The 2018 British Rally Champion Matt Edwards and co-driver Patrick Walsh notched a dramatic win in their Pirelli-backed Ford Fiesta R5 on the classic Renties Ypres Rally - the exciting overseas round of the British Rally Championship.

For Edwards and his M-Sport team they repeated their win from last year in fine style to take maximum BRC points, sixth overall, and with it the Tony Pond Award for the highest placed British crew.

Tom Cave and Dale Bowen in their Michelin-supported Hyundai i20 R5 put a pre-event Free Practice off into a ditch behind them to take their first Ypres finish and second on the time sheets, while Edwards’ M-Sport stablemate Alex Laffey and his co-driver Stuart Loudon took their best result in the BRC with third - making it three BRC drivers in the top 10.“We had a fairly uneventful first leg and then after that on the quiet we were managing quite a severe misfire, and we didn’t want to let on too much," said north-Walian Edwards."We tried changing everything on the final day, like we did 12 months ago, and it really tested us, but we battled on and got through it and thanks to the team for keeping us going and in the fight."There is something about this event as the car never plays up at any other time. It was very stressful to manage everything, especially in the demanding heat, but this important win means that the championship is really on as we tie with Tom [Cave]."I think I may have an advantage on the Ulster after the win last year and I am confident I can take this form into the final two rounds.”After their mid-season summer break, the fourth round of the BRC series was played out on the Tarmac roads in the Flanders region in sweltering heat, with huge crowds enjoying the ditch-cutting exploits from the visiting British crews.

They were up against Belgian Championship teams and some of the world’s best drivers, including Kevin Abbring, Freddy Loix and WRC star Craig Breen.

It was former BRC star Breen who won the event outright, with Paul Nagle in their VW Polo, but the action behind was to be red-hot in the BRC classifications.

The 23 stages over a two-day long event would provide a crucial landmark in the Championship, with Ypres providing the make or break point in the calendar.

The Irish pairing of Marty McCormack and Barney Mitchell in their Skoda Fabia R5 entered into a four-way scrap with Edwards, Tom Cave and Rhys Yates.

Yates in a similar Fabia R5 is dovetailing a selected BRC campaign with his WRC2 commitments, and came into the event ready to fight at the very front of the field.

Chasing his first win, Yates moved to the top of the tree on stage six, but his hard work was undone on the next stage as he and co-driver James Morgan made a rare mistake, putting them off the road.

The fight would continue with three in the scrap for top British Championship honours, with Cave leading McCormack and Edwards - the trio blanketed by a mere eight seconds at the overnight halt.

The next day saw the three become two as Northern Irishman McCormack unfortunately crashed out - and Cave had his own problems as a puncture and a buckled wheel haemorrhaged crucial time.

It wasn’t plain sailing for Edwards either as the same ECU gremlins which occurred 12 months ago returned, but he wrung the neck of his Ford Fiesta R5 for the rest of the final day. Cave elected to settle for second and take vital championship points as he finished 56.1 seconds adrift, with Laffey in the Fiesta R5 third.