West Cork Hotel Skibbereen Fastnet Stages Rally 2008 Results: Liam McCarthy wins in his Toyota Corolla WRC

Liam McCarthy recorded his third victory on the Fastnet Stages after winning the event previously in 1988 and 1992.

McCarthy took the lead on stage one and generally took command of the rally extending his advantage on each stage. Alan Ring (Mitsubishi) finished second though was under pressure initially from Shaun Gallagher in his Citroen C2 S1600.

Gallagher was second after three stages but then crashed out on SS4. Eugene Donnelly also retired when his Excel Citroen C2 S1600 stopped with driveshaft failure. Kevin Kelleher finished third overall in his Evo and came close to overhauling Ring near the end as only finished 17s behind.

The top 2WD competitor was Washington James (Darrian) who finished fourth overall and was five seconds ahead of the similar Darrian of James Stafford. 

Aaron Burkart, preparing for a possible appearance on Rally Ireland 09, finished eleventh in his C2 and was top S1600 runner. He would have finished higher but for a spin on SS6. 

Pre-event favourite Mel Evans retired his Subaru WRC on SS1 when his driveshaft broke.

Videos from Skibb 08:

In-car Craig Breen SS7

 Top Ten Fastnet Stages 2008 Results:

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• West Cork Rally 2009 results and videos: Liam McCarthy first overall in Toyota Corolla WRC
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• Rallye de Wallonie 2009 results and videos: Duval wins in Toyota Corolla WRC