SCOTT Faulkner and Aberystwyth co-driver Gareth Parry have secured the prestigious 2019 British Trials and Rally Drivers Association Production Cup.

The Professional Motorsport World Expo-backed team took the title in its first season in the BRTDA championship.

Over the 2019 season, Scott Faulkner and Gareth Parry achieved a total of four class victories with the C1-R Motorsport-supported Mitsubishi Evo 9 Group N, including an impressive overall third place at the Plains Rally, beating more powerful cars and more experienced drivers.

Heading into the BTRDA Championship’s final round, the Trackrod Rally in Yorkshire, they sat one point behind closest rivals Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence, and it set up a winner-takes-all situation.

At the end of stage one, Faulkner and Parry were 0.8 seconds ahead. Due to heavy rainfall, the track was more slippery than usual, but the Mitsubishi Evo 9 Group N’s new-for-2019 Pirelli tyres had found the grip and they worked well.

Set-up changes made to the Proflex dampers and center differential settings by support team C1-R Motorsport also ensured that the Evo 9 was competitive.

Naylor and Lawrence broke a driveshaft during the second stage, losing time and giving Faulkner and Parry a 28 second lead ahead of stages 3 and 4. As Faulkner continued to put in fast times, Naylor was ultimately forced to retire.

With a clear run after stage 3, all that was required was to get to the finish, and with the only scare coming after sliding into a bank during the 19km final stage, Faulkner and Parry completed the race to take the 2019 BTRDA Production Cup.

Faulkner has attributed much of their success to the enhanced funding provided by a revised Professional Motorsport World Expo package, which has contributed to significant upgrades to the car.

Thanks to vehicle tweaks and team support from C1-R Motorsport, the Mitsubishi proved highly reliable, recording just one DNF after a mechanical failure in the rear differential. The success is also down to their huge personal development.

“This year has been on another level, after our victory in the Welsh Championship last year,” reflected co-driver Parry. “We’ve had an amazing year as a team, with some great results and a few tough ones thrown in-between, and the Production Cup went down to the final round.

“Scott and I achieved some great results together, and to be honest those last few stages were some of the toughest. Scott’s commitment and consistency was spot on, but we couldn’t have achieved this without our great team, our sponsors, and the support of family and friends.”