EAST Lancashire co-driver Daniel Barritt aims to steer Welsh ace Elfyn Evans towards a podium finish this year as the dynamic duo gear up for the 2015 World Rally Championships.

The clock is already ticking towards the opening leg – at the Rallye Monte Carlo in the tiny south of France principality – from tomorrow to Sunday.

MORE TOP STORIES:

“We landed fourth place at two world rallies in 2014, and that was a really good effort,” said map man Barritt, from Barrowford. “I think it is a realistic goal, that we can achieve a top three spot somewhere.

“If you were going to give a mark for last season, it would eight out of 10.

“We made substantial progress - it was a good year and we achieved all that we could have hoped for realistically.

“We have to build on that solid foundation stone and I’m sure we can do that.”

Barrit and Evans finished seventh in the final Championship standings, after a superb top five finish at the last event of the year, Rally GB.

“We took the car down to Monaco the week before Christmas and everything went to plan,” he added.

“There was no snow on the course then, but we know it could be very different at the end of January.”

Barritt says that confidence is high in the camp as they approach the new campaign, and boosted by the invaluable experience that Barritt brings to the car, Evans is ready to show more of his potential in the coming year.

“Elfyn is a fine prospect, and a top five at Rally GB was a strong drive.

“The longer we work together the more understanding we have and our confidence and belief is growing all the time.”

The world tour starts a week later than last year, providing a longer end of season break and increased preparation time for manufacturers, teams and drivers.

“It just makes the other rallies a bit closer together and we’ll just have to see how that works,” added Barritt.

“We know that we e a bit of speed to find on several of our competitors, but we are fine tuning it and by the middle of the year we will not be too far away.”

There are several changes to the 13-round tour, with Portugal’s fixture returning to its traditional fan base in the north of the country after 10 years in the Algarve.

The South American leg will be staged in April, when conditions are likely to be warmer and drier in Argentina.

Poland, which successfully returned to the championship last season after a five-year gap, retains its place for next season.

Other rallies include legs in Mexico and Australia, with Rally GB once again providing the grand finale for the world tour.

“We’ve again blended a mix of classic events that date back to the championship’s origins with newer, but firmly established rallies,” said World Rally Championship managing director Oliver Ciesla.