BARROWFORD co-driver Daniel Barritt and Welsh ace Elfyn Evans continue to make strides in the World Rally Championship after an encouraging seventh place finish in Rally Argentina.

It was Evans’ debut at the South America event but Barritt has previous experience of the course and was able to navigate his driver into the top 10.

The M-Sport pair, driving a Ford Fiesta RS, displayed plenty of maturity in an event raced in extremely difficult conditions.

Evans and Barritt tackled each stage with a degree of caution as they impressed in what was described as the most difficult race of the season.

Evans had ended the opening day in fourth place after a strong start but dropped down over the weekend.

Nonetheless he was confident his experience in Argentina will stand him and Barritt in good stead for next year and the reminder of this season’s championship.

Evans said: “It’s not been easy to display good speed while being safe at the same time and, for me, it has definitely been the most difficult event of the year.

“When you’re trying to learn a new rally you tend to settle into a rhythm as the event unfolds, but here, there is something new all the time and you are constantly learning how to tackle each variation.

“With regards to the first day, the stages were very technical in nature and there was no margin for error.

“Then it was quite high-speed with a really soft surface so it was quite difficult to commit, and the final day weather made things very tricky with mixed conditions within the stages themselves.

“Although it has admittedly been a bit of a frustrating weekend for me, I know that the amount we have learnt will undoubtedly help my development for the future.

“We’ve made it to the end without incident and that is a big positive. Now it’s just a case of going back over the data with the team to decipher exactly where we can improve for next year.”

Jari-Matti Latvala beat team-mate Sebastien Ogier to take victory in a Volkswagen one-two with Britain’s Kris Meeke third.

Evans and Barritt picked up six points for their efforts and are eighth in the Championship standings with Ogier continuing to lead the way ahead of the next event in Italy on June 5.