Deficit to land Flanders class win

on the road, Brown would endure difficult conditions thanks to the gravel being pulled out onto the road by the front-running crews, but he showed no sign of that being an issue from the off, putting the Nissan well inside the top 50 on the opening test, the longest of the event.

As the stages passed, the confidence in the car grew and Brown would be trading stage times with others in the hotly contested 3F class.

Despite still giving away significant horsepower to the leaders, the stage times tumbled.

The occasional off-road excursion would be a testament to how hard he was pushing the Micra but after nine special stages and almost 100km of driving, Brown secured his best result of the season.

“I’m thrilled with this result and it really is a great feeling to have finally found my feet with the Micra, it’s been a long labour of love recently,” said Brown.

“It was a difficult rally and running down the order didn’t really help out stage times against other guys in the class but we persevered and I so pleased with the pace we managed to set. It was a pretty much trouble free run too which is encouraging. I also know there is more to come from the car and me so it’s certainly given me a real confidence boost heading into the final round next month. It’s great to be back!”

Brown is supported in 2018 by Fuchs Titan Race, Questmead Ltd, 710, Mintex Racing, PIAA, Brake Prep and Pirelli.