Scott Faulkner and Aberystwyth co-driver Gareth Parry have extended their lead in the BRTDA Group N Production Cup - after securing a terrific podium position at the Oswestry-based Plains Rally.

The duo, who finished third overall behind Euan Thorburn/Paul Beaton in a Ford Focus WRC, and Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson, in Ford Fiesta RS WRC, have now also taken the lead in the 2019 Pirelli Motorsport UK Welsh Forest Rally Championship.

"The result was fantastic for the whole team," said Faulkner. "We knew we could push hard in Dyfnant, but Aberhirnant was rough and we had to play it safe in there on both runs.

"It paid off, we avoided the punctures, and this is the best result in my 13 years of rallying. Gareth was brilliant on the pacenotes, we have really come a long way in the past 12 months.

"With the backing from Professional Motorsport World Expo, and Chris at C1-R, the whole team is starting to gel really well. If this is what we can achieve after only 12 months, who knows what we can achieve given more time."

They started the 45 stage mile event with the third fastest time on the opening run through Dyfant, putting their Professional Motorsport World Expo Mitsubish Evo 9, ahead of a large number of more modified B13, WRC an R5 machinery.

Most importantly, they stopped the clock 12 second ahead of their Group N rivals Russ Thompson and Andy Murphy, and their Pirelli Welsh Championship rivals Matthew Hirst and Declan Dear, who had both set the same time.

The second stage through Aberhirnant was very rough in places, but Faulkner and Parry had spent a lot of time perfecting the pace notes to ensure that the more difficult sections were well-marked.

A sixth-fastest time, equal with Group N rivals Pat Naylor and Ian Lawrence through stage two dropped them down to fourth overall, but crucially kept them 12 seconds ahead in the Group N battle.

The rough sections had played their part in the demise of Thompson and Murphy, and Hirst and Dear, as they both picked up punctures in stage two, dropping them down the leaderboard.

During the lunchtime break, the team at C1-R worked their magic to prepare the Mitsubishi for the afternoon stages, which would be a repeat of the first two stages of the rally, plus a final run through Llangower to finish the event.

Hoping to repeat their impressive run through the second Dyfnant stage, Faulkner pushed hard, testing Parry’s pacenote skills to the maximum, and also knowing that if they could extend the gap to their nearest rivals, they could back off through the rough Aberhirnant stage in an attempt to avoid any punctures.

A whopping second fastest stage time, only beaten by Euan Thorburn in his ex-works Focus WRC, meant that the team moved back up to this overall and again stretched their lead over their nearest Group N and Welsh Championship rivals by 15 and 11 seconds respectively.

A safe run through the second Aberhimant meant they avoided the punctures that had affected many over the first pass.

A final blast safely through Llangower to finish the day meant that the Professional Motorsport World Expo Rally Team recorded their best ever result, with their first overall BTRDA Rally podium and first place in both the Pirelli Welsh and BTRDA Group N Championships.

The team are now planning a mid-season refresh for the Mitsubishi, and all being well hope to be out in June on the Red Kite Stages in south Wales.