IT WAS a weekend to forget for WRC front-runners Daniel Barritt and Elfyn Evans, after the pair left Portugal empty-handed.

Having made a consistent start to his World Rally Championship campaign, the Welshman looked on course to impress in the new Fiesta RS.

The pair were quick off the blocks too, three seconds clear of reigning champion Sebastien Ogier midway through Friday’s opening speed test.

But it was not to be, as a fault with the throttle pedal fly-by-wire – a tried and tested part carried over from the previous homologation – put paid to their bid three kilometres shy of the stage end.

An uncharacteristic mistake by Evans then robbed him of an opportunity to experience Saturday’s stages when he then damaged the suspension on SS8.

Barrowford’s Barritt and Evans now turn their attentions to next month’s Rally d’Italia where they will be keen to prove their own potential at the wheel of M-Sport’s new car.

“Looking at the weekend I’ve had it’s definitely not the way we wanted to debut the new car, but overall the feeling in the team is really good,” said Evans. “It’s clear that we have made a step forward and we’ve also been able to identify a few places where we can improve the car further.

“It might have been a nightmare event for me with very little mileage and the disadvantage of running first on the road today, but we have to look at the positives.

“The boys in the workshop put in an unbelievable number of hours to ensure we had the cars ready in time, and I’m really sorry for them that I couldn’t help prove how much their hard work paid off. But we look forward to Sardinia where I hope I can repay their efforts with a strong result.”