ELFYN Evans says that he and co-driver Craig Parry are looking to push on after they tightened their grip on the MSA British Rally Championship title by taking victory on round five of the seven round series, the Nicky Grist Stages.

The speedy DMACK British Rally Team driver, from Dinas Mawddwy, made it three wins from five outings with his second ‘home’ victory in Wales this season.

Fellow Welshman Tom Cave, from Aberdyfi, equalled his season’s best with a fine second, while Desi Henry completed the podium after the two-day encounter.

“We are happy with how the event went and it wasn’t easy as the conditions were very challenging,” said Evans. “We had a spin on the first stage and from there we had to bring it together.

“When we got the lead, and when things were difficult, I had spare capacity to keep it calm. In rallying anything can happen and, with double points on the Isle of Man finale, this will leave it open until the last round, so we have to keep on it, keep pushing and keep winning.”

In their Autotek prepared Ford Fiesta R5 the Evans and Parry were fastest on seven of the opening day’s eight stages to hold an overnight lead of 48 seconds.

During a specially extended service, cars were transformed to asphalt specification for action over the Epynt military ranges and Evans picked up where he left off on the tricky Tarmac tests. Evans topped the timesheets on a further five stages, extending his lead and finishing with a 1 minute 11 seconds advantage.

“It was quite a tricky rally, but we went hard from the start and opened up a strong lead on the gravel stages,” Evans said. “The conditions were difficult all weekend, but the tyres and car both worked well and we were able to manage things.

“It has been a very positive result and it is also great that we’ve extended our lead overall in the British Championship.”

Based in Builth Wells, the Nicky Grist Stages is a unique event on the calendar, with the two days split into two surfaces.

Biblical weather greeted competitors on the opening day, with crews slipping and sliding through 45 miles of forestry gravel stages, before tackling the famous Tarmac on Epynt Ranges on the second day.

It wasn’t just the crews inside the car who were tested, as the service teams had just two-and-a-half-hours on Saturday evening to convert the cars from mud-slingers into Tarmac-hugging machines.

Series leader Evans had a difficult start to the event, as the Ford Fiesta R5 driver had spin on the opening stage, and had pop-off valve problems on the second.

Undeterred, Evans swiftly got back into his dominating stride, topping the time sheets on 12 of the event’s 15 stages to finish with a healthy 1 minute 11.4 second margin when the cars returned to Builth Wells for the event’s ceremonial finish.

It was to be fellow countryman Cave in his Michelin-shod Ford Fiesta R5 who drew first blood, however, setting fastest time on the opening stage of the rally.

Cave would lead the event until an inspired Evans snatched the advantage on the third stage. Thereafter Cave couldn’t live with Evans’ pace, but showed his improvement in speed with another second place - and his third podium of the year.

“I am very pleased with second as it is good for the team and for the championship," said Cave.

"Things have progressed even more this weekend, more than we had hoped. Our pace on both surfaces was encouraging especially on Tarmac on the second day.

"We knew it would be difficult to beat Elfyn this weekend, but I have learnt a lot from chasing him and want to be even closer on the Ulster next time out

"Second in the championship is good but we will keep working hard and keep making progress forward.”

The result that has helped Cave to leap-frog Fredrik Ahlin into second place in the championship standings, with two rounds remaining on the calendar. Ahlin missed out after retiring on the first day.

Henry picked-up from where he left off in Scotland with another third position in his Skoda Fabia R5. The Northern Ireland driver started off cautiously, but gathered pace as he flew through the gravel stages.

It wasn’t to be plain sailing for the likeable Irishman, though, as he took a big cut on the opening day nearly sending the Skoda onto its roof. With the Fabia safely back on all four wheels, Desi pressed on – more so when the competition had switched to his preferred sealed-surface.

Eager to hold station, Henry chalked up a fastest time on stage 12, showing his asphalt form which, in turn, elevated him up the championship points table at the end of the successful mid Wales event.

Scottish star David Bogie in his Pirelli-backed Skoda Fabia R5 has had a disappointing run of bad luck with two retirements since his podium on the Circuit of Ireland. The Dumfries driver suffered turbo issues on the final day but was pleased to score, with fourth overall.

Circuit of Ireland winner Josh Moffett moved through the order on the Epynt Ranges to place his Fiesta R5 in fifth while rounding out the top six in his Citroen DS3 R5 was Ulsterman Jonathan Greer who also claimed a fastest section time.

Greer will be looking for a strong result when the series returns to Ireland for the penultimate round of the British series.