DANIEL Barritt and David Higgins contest this weekend's Ulster Rally desperately hoping that Irish eyes will smile on them.

Fo the pair, who were firm favourites for the British Championship's Production Cup, have endured a nightmare season so far.

Currently languishing eighth in both the class and overall standings, the Hapton navigator and his Manx driver have been forced to retire from three events already this year.

Their most recent was on the previous round in the Isle of Man, where Higgins was once again denied a top result when, after setting a string of fastest times, his engine expired after suffering a leaking radiator.

It's a situation Barritt is detemined to help address this weekend.

"So far it's been one of those season's where things just don't go the way you want them to," he said.

"We're looking forward to this event and getting back to where we should be - at the front of the field.

"David's competed on the Ulster Rally a number of times and really enjoy the stages, the bumps and changing road surfaces make it really demanding.

"To add to the

challenge, the organisers seem to change the route from year to year, so previous experience of this event it not necessarily an advantage."

To make matters worse, their Mitsubishi team-mate Rory Galligan has enjoyed all the luck, scoring four production class wins so far this season, two of which have been on tarmac.

They subsequently lead the PBRC category for Group N cars and hold an impressive third place in the overall championship standings.

For the Mitsubishi team as a whole, the season is already looking good, as it has led the Teams Cup since the first round and currently holds an 18 point advantage.

The Ulster Rally is based in Armagh and gets underway from the city centre at 3.30 pm on Friday. Competitors will contest eight timed special stages that evening on a series of closed public roads in Co. Armagh and restart at 7.00 am on Saturday morning to contest a further ten in both County Armagh and County Tyrone. After driving a total of 124 competitive miles, the event concludes back in Armagh city centre at 5.30 pm.