WELSH rally star Elfyn Evans and co-driver Craig Parry won the John Mulholland Motors Ulster Rally last weekend - and with it they claimed the 2016 MSA British Rally Championship title.

The DMACK British Rally Team crew continued their impressive success rate, making it four wins from six in Britain’s premier series in their Ford Fiesta R5.

Ulsterman Jonathan Greer, in a Citroen DS3 R5, equalled his season best with a smooth and controlled drive to second place, whilst Scottish driver David Bogie took the final step on the podium in his Skoda Fabia R5 – making it three manufacturers in the top three.

“It feels pretty good to win the BRC title," commented a delighted Evans.

"We had hoped it was possible to wrap-up the title on the Ulster but in rallying anything can happen so we still needed to finish in a certain position and be in front of Tom [Cave] and Fredrik [Ahlin].

"To combine it with a win is very special, and it’s nice to be going home with the championship, especially 20 years since my Dad [Gwyndaf Evans] won the title on this event.”

He added: "The event was really tough, in fact it was probably the toughest of the season with the weather changing all the time, stage conditions changing constantly – it was difficult to keep up with everything and do the job in hand.

"After making a few wrong tyre choices yesterday we played it safe and erred on the side of caution on the second day to make sure we held our advantage and take the win."

The legendary Ulster Rally got underway at lunchtime on Friday 19 August in front of a large crowd in the heart of Derry/Londonderry city centre.

From there, crews took on 48.62 competitive miles on the first day before a mammoth 85.24 miles on the second, totalling 133.86 miles through the challenging lanes of Northern Ireland.

Heavy rain on both days made for greasy and demanding conditions, which created difficult tyre choices, as teams attempted to predict the conditions for every stage of the event – hoping for the smallest of advantages over their rivals.

Evans enjoyed an opening day battle with series returnee Keith Cronin and non-registered Alistair Fisher.

The World Championship star struggled with tyre choice on the first day but still got the best out of his DMACK-shod Fiesta to chalk up a 4.5 second lead over a hard charging Cronin overnight.

On the final day the Dolgellau-based driver showed his class as he eked out a 1:07.6 second lead over Fisher at the finish, to take the 2016 Ulster Rally spoils, and with it the 2016 MSA British Rally Championship title.

The Ulster Rally also marked a special anniversary in the Evans household, with Elfyn’s success coming 20 years on since father Gwyndaf won the same title on the Ulster Rally back in 1996.

Elfyn becomes the 38th different name on the BRC trophy after a dominant season, picking up four wins along with a third place on the Pirelli Carlisle – the Circuit of Ireland providing the only blot on his copy book as a mechanical retirement forced him out of the event lead.

Ulsterman Greer piloted his Pirelli-backed Citroen DS3 R5 to a fine second this weekend, equalling his season best, which he achieved on the Circuit of Ireland back in April.

Greer had a trouble free run to capitalise on his ‘Joker’ nomination, doubling his points to put him in hunt for the runners up spot going into the season finale.

Bogie started quietly in sixth overall but some inspired tyre choice on Friday evening put him on the cusp of the rostrum heading into the overnight halt.

With Cronin’s demise Saturday lunchtime, the Scottish driver pounced in his striking Skoda Fabia R5, to take his first podium since the Circuit of Ireland.

Multiple BRC Champion Cronin made a welcome return to the series after missing the previous few rounds. The Irishman came back with a bang as he fought tooth and nail with Evans until the lunchtime service on Saturday.

Gearbox and differential gremlins had worked their way into the Citroen DS3 R5, however, and disaster struck when the three-time champion could not select a gear when leaving the service area.

After swift and frantic work by the DGM Motorsport crew, the team managed to get back on the road again, but lost two much time with penalties after leaving service late. Eventually the Citroen driver hung on and finished a respectable fourth overall in the BRC section.

The Ulster Rally saw Irish drivers come to the fore with their local Tarmac knowledge paying dividends on the bumpy and challenging asphalt.

Sam Moffett and Desi Henry were both hoping to be in the podium hunt but retirements on the second day put paid to their weekends. Marty McCormack, in his Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia S2000, was the first naturally aspirated machine home in fifth, while Circuit of Ireland winner Josh Moffett had a troublesome event but still managed to secure a top six finish.

Rhys Yates has been improving as the season has unfolded and the Michelin-supported Fiesta R5 driver took a fine seventh place at the Derry/Londonderry finish.

Welsh ace Tom Cave had a disappointing event by his usually high standards. Transmission failure on the first day saw his Fiesta R5 running in two-wheel-drive configuration for most of the stages.

A spirited drive on the final day brought the young star from Aberdyfi back into the points come the end of the event with eighth.