BRITISH Rally Championship leader Elfyn Evans has already recorded a hat-trick of wins on the Mid Wales Stages, Scottish Rally and Nicky Grist Stages - and the Gwynedd ace will go into this weekend’s Ulster Rally as the favourite for victory in his DMACK Ford Fiesta R5.

Having built up a 39-point championship lead, they’ve already shown leading pace on asphalt this season with a string of fastest times on the Circuit of Ireland.

“We’ve had a good run over the last few events and will be aiming to carry that speed and performance again in Ulster,” said Evans. “Our pace on the Circuit of Ireland was good so we need to continue that without any problems to strengthen our championship challenge.”

Evans, from Dolgellau, and co-driver Craig Parry will not be expecting to have it all their own way, however, as the chasing pack will all be out to topple them.

Welsh rival Tom Cave, of Aberdyfi, has been improving in pace as the campaign has unfolded, having never been out of the top four, with co-driver James Morgan on the notes. Cave will be desperate to take a win in 2016 and aims to pull out all the stops to beat fellow countryman Evans in his Michelin-shod Fiesta R5.

Swedish sensation Fredrik Ahlin and Norwegian navigator Morten Erik Abrahamsen (Ford Fiesta R5) have meanwhile had a rollercoaster of a season to date.

The Pirelli-backed driver pushed Evans all the way on the opening round, before landing his first win on round three, the Pirelli Carlisle Rally two months later.

Costly errors on the Circuit of Ireland and the Nicky Grist Stages, along with a mechanical failure on the Scottish, put the Scandinavian third in the championship.

CA1 Sport teammate David Bogie (Skoda Fabia R5) with Irish co-driver James O’Reilly are seventh in the standings. The Scottish driver has shown blistering pace this season and will want to harness the speed and return to the podium, which he last achieved on the Circuit of Ireland.

In 2016, drivers have elected to play their ‘Jokers’ to double their points. Two drivers yet to play their card are dark horses for rostrum honours. Josh Moffett/John Rowan (Ford Fiesta R5) won the BRC element on the Circuit of Ireland and Jonathan Greer/Kirsty Riddick (Citroen DS3 R5), who finished just behind the Fiesta pairing, hope to emulate their success on home ground this weekend.

There will also be a whole host of series returnees. Multiple BRC champion Keith Cronin/Mikie Galvin (Citroen DS3 R5) will want a strong BRC finish to show his class. Local stars Marty McCormack and David Moynihan in their Skoda Fabia S2000 held the lead on the Circuit of Ireland, before a heart-wrenching fuel pump failure denied them a home win.

Meanwhile Matt Edwards and Will Rogers have had a phenomenal season in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 in the BRC2 category, wrapping up the title on the previous round – the Nicky Grist Stages. The pair will be eager to shine on the Ulster as the crew step-up to the BRC1 category, driving a brand-new Ford Fiesta R5.

The Ulster Rally begins from Derry’s Guildhall on Friday lunchtime and features 133 miles of stages across the fast, countryside lanes and mountain passes.