Alastair Fisher has set his sights on winning the 2014 Junior World Rally Championship this season. The Trillick driver will line up for Rally Portugal this weekend hopeful that he can see off eleven other drivers from ten different countries and claim the prestigious title.

Last season Alastair contested the similar WRC3 series and was locked in a battle for the lead with Keith Cronin before both drivers saw their chances of victory ended when they ground to a halt in a water splash. It was to mark the start of a frustrating season for Fisher, who failed to convert his speed on the stages into high points scoring finishes.

“We have always had the speed, and when you know that it makes it difficult to walk away from,” said Alastair. “Obviously we didn’t have the best of luck last year. We took a bit of a think over the winter and we decided to give it one more shot at that level. We decided to focus on the WRC and give it the best go we can.” Alastair will once again be behind the wheel of a Citroen DS3 R3 for the championship. The six round series starts with Portugal and also takes in events in Poland, Finland, Germany, France and the Great Britain. The calendar is a familiar one for Alastair having contested most of the events in previous seasons, but he will come against some unfamiliar names in his quest for the JWRC crown.

“The competition should be good,” he said. “There are a couple who competed in it last year and you always get a few new faces that come out of the woodwork. I have good experience in most of the rounds, except for Poland which is a new round for everybody.” Portugal holds happy memories for Alastair. He won the event in 2012 and was leading the rally in both 2011 and 2013 before hitting trouble. His previous experiences means he knows exactly what is required over the tough forestry roads in the south of the country. The rally is regarded as the most technically difficult rally of the entire World Rally Championship, so Alastair is determined to make it to the finish.

“We will maybe play the long game a bit more this year,” he admitted. “Portugal is a very tough rally. It’s one of the best but probably one of the toughest and it’s definitely a finishers rally.”