JACK BENYON GROUP NATIONAL EDITOR

Thursday morning, nine o’clock. With less than 20 people watching on, Elfyn Evans was presented on the Autosport Stage. Hardly the fanfare worthy of someone’s defining moment of a show bursting with motorsport excitement.

However, worthy it was, and is.

When the 2016 driver market was firmed up at the end of 2015, I couldn’t believe Evans had been dropped. He’d shown just as much promise as Ott Tanak, and yet it was he who was cast aside. Evans hadn’t quite set the world on fire in his two years in the M-sport Fiesta, but he’d given the squad consistency.

Being dropped like that would be enough to put the nail in the coffin of some drivers. But Evans took on the British Championship instead. The steely determination to return to the WRC never wavered and his only goal in 2016 was to win the BRC and relaunch his WRC career.

He’s certainly managed that. And this year he’ll be in the same car as a fourtime champion. Time to prove yourself Elfyn.

After a year of covering the BRC, seeing the champion get the return to the WRC he deserved was enjoyable, even if only for a handful of onlookers.