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On a glorious final day Arron Newby and Rob Fagg (Subaru Impreza) made it back to back successes on Rally Isle of Man powered by Microgaming, as Daniel McKenna and Arthur Kierans (Citroen DS3) lifted the MSA British Rally Championship title.
19 year-old Newby, who retained his Eurocars Motorsport Manx Rally Championship crown yesterday, took a two minute lead into the final days seven closed roads stages and swept to fastest stage time on each of them. It extended the VP Fuels/Pirelli/Beatsons Building Supplies TEG Sport driver’s winning margin to 3m27.4s.
Second placed Steve Colley/Andrew Cowley felt more in the groove today despite a major moment on one stage, Steve finally feeling at home with the Specialised Glazing Solutions Mitubishi Evo IX.
Nigel and Michaela Cannell (Star Services Evo IX) were third on the combined event standings and the winners of the main Rally Isle of Man category, both Newby and Colley contesting the National element.
Rob Smith/Alun Cook (Ford Escort MkII) finally solved rally-long brake problems on the final loop, finishing 1m38s up on Mintex MSA British Historic Rally Championship contenders Meirion Evans/Iwan Jones who scored a terrific top five overall finish on their island debut.
Andrew Hockridge/Aled Edwards took sixth getting valuable mileage and setup times in the Citroen DS3, ahead of post-historic category winners David Stokes/Guy Weaver (Ford Escort MkI) who inched closer to another British Historic title with only the McRae Stages to come.
The leading historic crews who have put on a superb show over three days of dry, sunny weather continued with Will Onions/Dave Williams (Escort MkII) in eighth despite alternator problems this morning.
Locals Martyn Jones/Martin Burns took third in the National event and the Star of the Rally award after a stunning drive in the out-powered Vauxhall Nova.
Jimmy McRae/Pauline Gullick (Vauxhall Firenza) completed the top then, the three time former event winner McRae thoroughly enjoying his return to the islands stages.
In the key British Championship battle McKenna/Kierans knew that all they had to do was make in the finish in the Pirelli Star Drive Citroen DS3, and that drove to that need, happy to lose a few seconds per stage to title rivals Osian Pryce/Dale Furniss in a similar car.
McKenna arrived at the end of the final stage at a packed TT Grandstand to launch huge celebrations from a large Irish contingent of supporters as the title was his, the third Irish driver to lift it, and forty years after Billy Coleman became the first.
It was a fitting end to the current era of BRC rallying.
Ross Hunter/Josh Davison (Peugeot 205) similarly did what they had to do to land the NGK Spark Plugs BRC Challenge despite a trip through a ditch at one point this morning.
Sadly Stu Bainborough/Charlotte Shimmin (MIsubishi Evo III) crashed out of the rally on the final stage whilst in the top ten.
*The organisers would like to thank everyone who played a role in making the event a success, including all officials and competitors, and the Manx populance.
