Mark Higgins equals Russell Brookes and Tony Pond to win the Manx Rally four times
Mark Higgins took a last gasp victory to become a four-time winner of Rally Isle of Man.
Going into the last stage the Manxman, driving an Atlas TEG Sport Group N Subaru Impreza, was 14.7 seconds ahead of Wexford’s Eamonn Boland in his Subaru Impreza WRC.
As the crowds thronged the grandstand, many of them had stop watches at the ready to see if local hero Mark had managed to hold onto the lead. As he crossed the finish line the home crowd cheered.
He had held the lead since the last stage on Thursday night, and set five fastest stage times throughout the event, having called the weather correctly all the way through to mid service this morning.
Trying to protect a 47.7 second lead after Boland had already hit back on the drying roads. Mark gambled on taking an intermediate tyre for a loop that included the longest stage of the rally, Conister Trust Cringle. It was completely the wrong decision, and Irish Tarmac Rally Championship leader Boland slashed the lead to 15 seconds, with just two stages to go.
The victory means Mark is now joins Tony Pond and Russell Brookes, as the only other driver to win the event four times. In addition, the final 11.6 second margin makes it the closest finish in the 45 year history of the rally. For Mark’s co-driver Rory Kennedy it’s a first island win after over 20 years of trying, during which time he has led the event on more than one occasion with the late Bertie Fisher.
The runner-up spot for Boland means he and Damien Morrissey narrowly failed to tie up the Global Group Irish Tarmac Rally Championship title on the Isle of Man.
Behind, Guy Wilks and David Moynihan completed a fine comeback drive after Friday’s accident, overhauling Tesco 99 Octane British Rally Championship leader David Higgins on the first stage of the day, Visitisleofman.com St Runius. David and his co-driver Ieuan Thomas finished right behind Wilks in fourth, and continues to lead the British Rally Championship.
James Wozencroft and Chris Ridge put a superb run in to finish fifth, on their third BRC outing in the Revolution Wheels Subaru Impreza, while Darren Gass and Neil Shanks took sixth in their Pirelli Mitsubishi Lancer which was Gass’s prize for winning the BRC’s Pirelli Star Driver shoot out last year.
On the subject of the Pirelli Star Driver, the nomination on Rally Isle of Man was Sweden’s Andreas Sjolander. Although he crashed out of the event in the 17th of the 23 stages, he had been running ninth in a Fiesta ST.
Leading two-wheel drive car was the Renault Clio S1600 of Brian O’Mahony and John Higgins, after their rally long battle with Guy Woodcock ended when Guy crashed the Escort Maxi kit car on the Cringle stage.
Jimmy McRae takes Historics win:
Jimmy McRae preserved his overnight lead to take a convincing win in the Isle of Man Historic Rally. Along with Andy Richardson in the Stobart Porsche 911, the pair finished 49.6 seconds ahead of Steve Smith and John Nichols in a similar 911. Richard Hill and Patrick Cooper took third in their Ford Escort. Dessie Nutt and Geraldine McBride were the winners of the true historics.
Top Six Results
1 M. HIGGINS SUBARU 2:40:18.8
2 E. BOLAND SUBARU 2:40:30.4 +11.6 (+11.6)
3 G. WILKS MITSUBISHI 2:44:04.5 +3:45.7 (+3:34.1)
4 D. HIGGINS SUBARU 2:45:38.2 +5:19.4 (+1:33.7)
5 J. WOZENCROFT SUBARU 2:49:53.6 +9:34.8 (+4:15.4)
6 D. GASS MITSUBISHI 2:50:44.1 +10:25.3 (+50.5)
Castletown
Rally Isle of Man in-car
Jonny Greer Castletown
Taylor Patterson Tholt y Will
Andrew Hockeridge
Taylor Patterson Cringle crash
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