Elfyn Evans raises the stakes in Rallye Monte Carlo

Elfyn Evans' bid to add further success to his history-making win on last year's Dayinsure Wales Rally GB blasts off with next week's Rallye Monte-Carlo (25^th to 28^th January).

As tradition dictates, the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) commences with the notoriously challenging Alpine classic - a wintry event that always throws up an ultra-testing cocktail of ice, snow and slush making the already demanding mountain roads among the trickiest on the 13-round WRC calendar, which reaches Wales in early October.

Evans has contested Rallye Monte-Carlo four times previously and has never finished outside the top eight. His best result to date is sixth place on his debut in 2014 and again last year.

Since taking his maiden WRC win in Wales - the first for a Welsh driver and the first for a British driver on home soil since the late Richard Burns in 2000 - Evans has been promoted by his title-winning M-Sport team. For 2018, he and co-driver Daniel Barritt line up alongside five-time World Champion Sebastien Ogier in one of the Cumbrian outfit's pair of front-line Red Bull-liveried Ford Fiesta WRCs.

While clearly keen to make the most of his coveted seat alongside the French maestro, Evans is by no means overawed by his illustrious team-team. And the Welshman is certainly brimming with confidence after his break-through season in 2017 when he not only posted his first WRC victory but also two impressive second-place finishes en route to fifth place in the final WRC championship standings.

M-Sport might have won both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' crowns in 2017 but the opposition from Citroen, Hyundai and Toyota will be even stronger in 2018. Evans, however, believes the M-Sport technicians - now benefiting from increased support from Ford - will keep the Fiesta in front.

While next week's famous Rallye Monte-Carlo will provide a stern opening test, the WRC calendar throws up numerous challenges before the intrepid teams encounter the legendary Welsh forests in early October. As ever, the calendar is an epic adventure ranging from the snow packed tracks of Sweden to the rock-strewn mountain passes of Mexico and Argentina.

In the meantime, all those wanting to follow Evans' fortunes on television are spoilt for choice with both live and highlights coverage of this year's FIA World Rally Championship on Channel 5, BT Sport, S4C and Red Bull TV.