Matt Edwards scored a maiden Irish Tarmac Championship victory of the season (his first since 2021), the Welshman heading series leader Keith Cronin home in Dungannon.
Three-time British Rally Champion Edwards arrived at the finish of the 60-mile event 14.4 seconds up on his fellow Ford Fiesta Rally2-driving rival. Such was the furious pace at the front, the lead pair was more than a minute and a half ahead of third-placed Josh Moffett (Citroën C3 Rally2).
Moffett’s morning was disturbed when he found cows on the road in the second stage, but he kept his head together and was then content with the bottom step of the podium as the gaps began to grow
Cathan McCourt and Desi Henry were tied on time going into the penultimate stage, with Fiesta man McCourt eventually taking the position. Jonny Greer was in the thick of the fight until he crashed out on the sixth of eight stages.
It was a day to forget for the defending champion Callum Devine and co-driver Noel O’Sullivan after a bent rear control arm forcing his Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 into retirement on stage 3.
In the modified battle, a 10-second jump start penalty meted out to Mark Alcorn (Ford Escort Mk2) proved the difference as he lost out to the Toyota Starlet of Jason Black by 3.1 seconds.
Elsewhere Cian Caldwell and Liam Egan took a big Rally4 win on the Circuit of Ireland to boost their championship hopes.
