DANIEL Barritt begins his British Championship campaign this weekend with just one aim - to navigate Phillip Morrow to the drivers title.

After helping the Ulsterman to win last year's Mitsubishi Evolution Challenge, Barritt's job is to keep the highly-rated 24-year-old on the straight and narrow.

The pair have been promoted to a full factory drive with the Mitsubishi Motors UK team for 2008, giving them their best shot at taking the title for the first time.

"Driving a works car is a completely different proposition for Phillip, and in reality it takes all the pressure off him," explained Daniel, 27, who lives in Hapton.

"He's spent the last four years chasing sponsorship, scraping enough money together to get a car, and then trying to run it.

"Now, all he has to do is concentrate on driving and getting the results, Mitsubishi do all the rest.

"I think our main competition will come from our own team-mates, Guy Wilks and Phil Pugh. They scored five wins out of seven rounds last year to take the title so they obviously start as favourites.

"But Phillip has really come on in the two years we have been together. He has always been fast but not consistent, so we spent a lot of time working on that.

"It paid off last year when he showed a real improvement by being fast and consistent, and it's that sort of form that wins you titles."

Barritt (right) is no stranger to the team, having partnered Manxman David Higgins to the US Rally Championship title in 2005, with Mitsubishi.

Many of the team in America, including manager Steve Whitford, are now with the UK arm.

2008 promises to be a busy year for Barritt, one of the UK's leading navigators.

He's dovetailing his BRC campaign with another season in the Production World Championship alongside Japanese driver Fumio Nutahara, in another Mitsubishi.

Now in their second year together, the pair got their season off to a solid start with fourth place in Argentina last month, the wet and muddy conditions not dissimilar to the ones likely to be found in Cumbria this weekend.

In preparation for the Pirelli International Rally, Barritt and Morrow spent two days testing in Kielder Forest last week getting to grips with the new car.

"The works Lancer is superb. We felt comfortable with the package right from the word go, not just with the car, but the whole team," said Morrow, who lives in Lisburn, County Antrim.

"We were very pleased with the way the test went and it's certainly made a difference to my confidence, going into my first ever event as a works-driver. Although I'm fired-up, I'm going to take a sensible approach and aim for a top three finish - and if things turn out better, then it's a bonus."