ELFYN Evans is looking to maintain his lead in the 2016 MSA British Rally Championship this weekend when the third round sees competitors travel to Cumbria for the Pirelli Carlisle Rally.

Evans, from Dolgellau, and fellow Welsh co-driver Craig Parry took first blood after victory on the opening round at the Mid Wales Stages - and they were leading on the Circuit of Ireland Rally before a mechanical failure forced them into an unfortunate early retirement.

With a 20-point championship advantage, they come to the event direct from Rally Argentina, and they will be gunning for another solid result to consolidate their championship campaign.

Evans, the son of past winner Gwyndaf, has competed on the Kielder stages before and knows the high-speed roads through the vast forest complex demand respect.

“I’m really looking forward to the rally," said the 27 year-old. "It’s a fast event, where there’s not much margin for error, and you need to be pretty precise and clean.

"Hopefully we can be at the front of the field again with the new gravel tyre that DMACK has introduced. I know they’ve done quite a bit of testing with Ott Tanak so I’m looking forward to seeing the improvements for myself.”

A return to gravel in the north of England will be another demanding contest with the two-day, 74-mile event taking in the infamous Kielder Forest.

Leading the crews away into the event from the Pirelli tyre factory will be BRC Championship leader Evans in his DMACK-backed Ford Fiesta R5.

Hot on his heels will be Sweden’s Fredrik Ahlin, who also retired from the lead on the Circuit in his similar Fiesta R5. The Pirelli-backed Ahlin pushed Evans all the way on the opening round in Mid Wales and will want to get his title tilt back on track on his preferred loose surface.

Making a welcome return to the BRC is homegrown hero and WRC exponent Matthew Wilson. The former BRC event winner has not competed in anger since Wales Rally GB in 2014 and he will hope his local knowledge will make up for a lack of recent competitive mileage.

In front of Wilson on the road will be the leading Michelin runner, Tom Cave who was hampered by mechanical gremlins across the Irish Sea. Cave, who is from Aberdyfi, will be one to watch in his Fiesta R5 and will certainly be a front-runner once again.The other leader on the Circuit of Ireland was Northern Irishman Marty McCormack, who led on home soil before a faulty fuel pump put paid to his weekend.

The Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia S2000 can never be discounted in McCormack’s hands, and he will look to take his first points of the season on the Pirelli Carlisle.

Winner of round two, Josh Moffett along with brother Sam and former triple BRC champion Keith Cronin have elected to contest an Irish Tarmac Championship round on the same weekend, blowing the battle for the podium places wide open.

After start ramp ceremonies at 12.30pm on Saturday, crews will tackle two stages before a remote service at Hawkhirst.

Then it’s two more tests, including a high-speed run through the 13-mile Pundershaw stage, before the overnight halt in Carlisle.

Sunday features just three stages but the final run through Chirdonhead is the longest of the rally at 16.15 miles.