THE Irish came in their droves for the 33rd Jim Clark Memorial Rally round the Borders roads of Berwickshire, so it was no surprise that it was Guinness rather than champagne which flowed come the checkered flag.
Of the top five finishers in the overall event - the Jim Clark is a counter in both the British and New Pig Scottish Rally Championships, and the Irish Tarmac Championship - four were Irish.
Yorkshire’s Jonny Milner, who began tied for the lead i
n the British Championship, flew the flag for the non-Irish brigade.
Just three weeks after winning the Scottish International Rally in Dumfries, the Toyota World Rally Car driver fought back from 25th overall at the end of Saturday’s first stage to finish just 47.1secs behind the Subaru Impreza WRC of winner Andrew Nesbitt.
The Armagh driver, a Tarmac specialist, led from mid-Saturday after finally getting the car’s set-up the way he wanted.
Defending British champion Milner, whose advantage grew to 12 points after his nearest challenger, Finland’s Tapio Laukkanen crashed out on Saturday, was content with second and maximum points in the British series.
"The overall championship points were the important thing," said Milner, who made the fastest times in six of the closing eight stages yesterday. "It was all about finishing at a steady pace and not taking any chances and that’s exactly what we’ve achieved."
Nesbitt, meanwhile, was ecstatic. "Absolutely brilliant," the Irishman beamed after repeating his Jim Clark victory of 12 months ago. "We did all the hard work on Saturday in probably the worst conditions I have ever rallied in on Tarmac. There were cars sliding off everywhere. It was a major achievement to stay on the road.
"But we hung in there and to win again in Scotland is absolutely terrific. I can’t wait to come and try for the hat-trick."
In the final series to use the three-day Jim Clark as a counter in its championship, Inverness driver Raymond Munro continued his domination of the New Pig Scottish by bringing his ex-Juha Kankkunen Subaru WRC home over three minutes ahead of the MG Metro 6R4 of Dumfries driver John Bogie.
Hamilton’s Jon Burn finished third just 3.4secs further back.
"We had a few brake problems on the final couple of stages but we were able to back off and cruise home," said Munro, winner of all six opening rounds in the New Pig Scottish. "We’re in an exceptionally strong position now and really it’s only ours to lose."
