ELFYN Evans starts a pivotal FIA World Championship campaign this week at the Monte Carlo Rally.

After famously scoring his maiden victory on home soil at the end of 2017, the 30-year-old by his own admission endured a frustrating follow-up season.

A combination of accidents, punctures, mechanical maladies and team orders restricted him to just a pair of podium results, and a disappointing seventh position in the final 2018 drivers’ standings.

Despite those setbacks, the Welshman now finds himself promoted to team leader at the M-Sport Ford World Rally Team following the departure of reigning champion Sébastien Ogier - and Red Bull sponsorship - to rival team Citroën.

As Ogier proved in capturing back-to-back World Championship titles, the M-Sport prepared Fiesta RS WRC is a proven winner, so the pressure is very much on Evans to deliver in his new-look, nitrous blue liveried Ford machine.

“There’s always pressure, but this is a great opportunity and I’m really excited to get going and to get back on track,” said Evans, from Dinas Mawddwy.

“There were various reasons why last year didn’t go as we had hoped. The first half of the season was very, very difficult but the second half of the year was much stronger and we showed good speed.

“Now I’m looking to carry that forward, displaying that speed more consistently and being competitive every weekend,” said Evans, who has a new co-driver this year with Scott Martin - most recently co-driver for Irishman Craig Breen - who will be replacing Dan Barritt this year.

“Hopefully we can have a lot of success together. We are starting 2019 with a fresh page and a determination to get on with it. We have to aim high, do the best possible job and to fight for wins. Winning is definitely the aim,” said Evans.

To best prepare, the pairing of Evans and Martin conducted a two-day test and have spent a number of days perfecting their new partnership with plenty of pacenote practice in advance of the recce.

Evans has contested Rallye Monte-Carlo on five previous occasions and will be looking to secure his best result yet.

The Welshman deserved more than a sixth-place finish last year as he was denied an opportunity to fight for what would have been a place in the top-three when having to stop and change a puncture on the opening speed test.

“I’m looking forward to getting this season underway and seeing what myself and Scott can achieve,” Evans added.

“We’re both really motivated and determined to secure some strong results and I see no reason why we shouldn’t be doing that from the very first event in Monte.

“We know from last year that we have the speed and the team have been working really hard to improve the car further.

“It felt good on the test and we managed to get a feel for a lot of different conditions – damp to wet Tarmac on the first day followed by full snow on the second.

“I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of an event like Monte, but I tend not to look at the forecasts too far in advance.

“The weather is constantly changing and you need to be able to adapt to the conditions and make the correct tyre choices at short notice – something we’re very much focused on doing next week.”

As the oldest event in the FIA World Rally Championship, Rallye Monte-Carlo has iconic status and is one of the most unpredictable and challenging events of the year. It’s a rally that every driver wants to win, and all the crews will be pushing towards that goal next week.

Famed for its varied conditions, it’s not uncommon to see dry asphalt, ice and snow in the space of a single stage and the crews will need to find the best compromise for each leg – and shrewd tyre choices and set-up configurations often making all the difference.