Fermanagh rally driver William Mavitty is on the brink of winning the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Rally Championship Group N title after another Group N win at the weekend, this time at the 138.com Rally Isle of Man. 
All roads now head south for William for the Acesigns Cork 20 International Rally on Friday, September 30 where he will look to secure the title, holding a commanding lead going into the final round. 
Speaking after the win, Mavitty admitted it was a tough challenge. 
“The stages over here are far more slippery than we are used to. 
“The surface is very difficult to judge and I don’t think there was a right tyre to be on all rally,” he said. 
Making his first visit to the international rally steeped in motorsport heritage, Mavitty and co-driver Martin Connolly, driving a Mitsubishi Evo IX were solidly inside the top thirty out of 140 crews on Thursday’s opening five-stage leg that included a side-by-side stage on Douglas seafront, despite torrential showers making conditions very testing.
Friday was a daunting 14-hour, 11-stage day. 
With damp but drying conditions the pair took a cautious approach on the opening stage Little London, but then slid off the road on the next test, Kella, a notorious piece of road that has caught out greats such as Bertie Fisher in years past.
“It was just incredibly slippery and yet high speed” said William. 
“There are ditches down both sides of the road and one swallowed us!”
The car was recovered with very little damage and the pair were able to re-start on Friday tea-time for the second night leg, that had another five stages. 
They then reported tracking problems as a result of the crash, making steering difficult as the route headed to the famous Castletown town centre stages and then on into the Manx lanes in complete darkness. 
With the problems rectified at overnight service, the crew used Saturday’s concluding stages to familiarise themselves with the Manx roads, and build confidence.
After dropping down the leader board due to the troubles the team fought their way back to 13th overall and win Group N.