RALLY ace Elfyn Evans and co-driver Craig Parry have made the perfect start to their MSA British Rally Championship campaign, by claiming a superb victory on the Mid Wales Stages for the DMACK British Rally Team.

The pairing used their Ford Fiesta R5 to good effect to conquer the competition and conditions as they edged out Swedish driver Fredrik Ahlin in their Autotek-run Ford Fiesta R5 Evo. Despite being hampered by having to clear the frozen roads, the Welsh pairing duly took the top step of the podium by 17.1 seconds.

In a double victory, Evans played his one-off joker on this opening round of the Championship, giving him the opportunity to double his points tally and to open up a 35 point lead.

Evans, from Dinas Mawddwy, said: “It’s a fantastic feeling to have won the first round of this very competitive British Championship.

“Despite it being our home event, the wintery conditions and the fact we were first on the road for the entire event, made it extremely difficult and unpredictable. Playing the joker was certainly the right move for us, so we’re in a fortunate position after the first event.”

The MSA British Rally Championship got off to a spectacular start, after a year’s sabbatical, as more than 50 of the best crews in the best cars launched themselves into six demanding timed gravel stages over the two-day event.

Treacherous icy conditions greeted the competitors on the opening two tests on Saturday evening, and Evans and Parry, who were first away, landed the first blow by taking a staggering 18.2 seconds out of the opposition, before Ahlin then stepped up to take a second out of Evans going into the overnight halt.

On Sunday, Ahlin reduced Evans’ gap on the opening stage before snatching victory and the outright lead on the second - heading to the midday service with a 3.5 second cushion.

Evans, however, continued the tantalising battle by topping the time sheets on the concluding two tests to win by 17.1 seconds.

It has been a stunning start to the year for Evans, who has also registered two wins in the WRC2 category in the FIA World Rally Championship, and is dovetailing the full British series with his WRC commitments in 2016.

Meanwhile Aberdyfi’s Tom Cave and James Morgan in the Spencer Sport run Ford Fiesta made it three Fiestas on the podium, having been pushed hard by the Scottish pairing of David Bogie and Kevin Rae in their striking Skoda Fabia R5. Bogie recorded several top three times, but two spins left him out of touch of Cave, with 16 seconds the deficit at the end.

Osian Pryce, of Aberangell, dominated the National Rally Cup in his Spencer Sport Mitsubishi Mirage to finish over eight minutes in front of Swede Robert Bloomberg in a similar Mirage. Pryce had also played his Joker card.