Osian Pryce secured his first British Rally Championship victory since 2013 at the weekend, scooping maximum points at round five of this year’s series, the demanding Beatson’s Building Supplies Mull Rally.

Pryce and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan took their Melvyn Evans Motorsport Volkswagen Polo GTi to a long-awaited BRC win, as teammates Matt Edwards and Darren Garrod faltered on the opening stage of the rally, eventually recovering to second place.

Steeped in history, the iconic Mull Rally is widely regarded as one of the toughest events on the British rally calendar.

The small island off the west coast of Scotland is well known for its brutal stages and unforgiving schedule which sees much of the event’s 148 stage miles taking place under the cover of darkness.

But it would be the opening stage of the 17-test event that would shape the entire outlook of the weekend. Just a few corners into the marathon rally, Edwards would suffer self-confessed “brain fade” and launched his Pirelli-shod Polo off the road, losing seven minutes in the process.

The resultant and rather significant rear-end damage would cause further time loss for the two-time champion, leaving Pryce to open up an unassailable lead.

However, the Aberangell star battled handling issues in his Michelin-backed machine throughout the weekend to secure his first BRC victory in eight years.

“My heart is still somewhere in that last stage and my brain is somewhere else in the rally,” said Pryce.

“We came here with a job to do, and we have made the most of the situation with full joker points as well which will make it very interesting for the championship. Work starts now for the Cambrian and Ulster rallies, let’s hope we can keep this winning streak up.

“Our last BRC win was in 2013 which makes me feel old, but it’s been a long time coming. We’ve had a few near misses, but to do it here on such a tough rally in such a tough way, it’s very rewarding. The championship battle is back on, let’s hope it continues.”

Matt Edwards won an impressive eight stages, setting a string of new event stage records along the way, to climb from 142nd overall to fifth by the end of the event.

The British Rally Championship returns with the the Visit Conway Cambrian Rally in Llandudno in just three weeks time.