Enniskillen navigator Barry McNulty claimed the top prize on Saturday’s Bushwacker Rally, but for fellow Fermanagh man Jon Armstrong it was a bitter sweet event as he took the class win but missed out on Road to Wales Championship prize by one point.

A win in the series would have earned the Kesh driver a funded drive on Wales Rally GB later this year, but despite winning five of the seven rounds of the series he came up just short when Rob Duggan secured the second spot he needed to take the title.

“We did our best but unfortunately we couldn’t control what went on behind us,” said Jon. “We were on a good pace form the first stage and we were happy to win the class, but just couldn’t quite do enough to win the championship. We won five out of seven rounds but unfortunately the two we didn’t win we didn’t finish and that was our downfall. We were leading the other two as well, so it was disappointing but that is how rallying goes sometimes. You need finishes to win championships.” Jon needed to win the event and hope Duggan finished third or lower, and it looked to be falling into his hands when Alan Smyth moved into second spot ahead of the series leader midway through the event. Smyth rolled out on the next stage however handing Duggan the points he needed to pip Armstrong to the title.

There was no such frustration for Barry McNulty, who navigated Mark Donnelly to outright victory. The pair led from start to finish in their Subaru Impreza S10, covering the opening stage three seconds faster than the Mitsubishi of Josh Moffatt. They had extended that lead to 20 seconds as the cars made their way to the midpoint service after three stages, and they took another five seconds out of their nearest challenger on stage four. They were able to coast over the final test to win the on the fortieth anniversary of the Omagh Motor Club event.

The battle for the top two wheel drive competitor was billed as a three way fight between Shane McGirr and the escorts of Frank Kelly and Adrian Hetherington. Hetherington took the early honours, but punctures cost him any chance of victory, leaving McGirr and co driver Jackie Elliott to trade seconds with Kelly. Just one second separated the pair after four stages, but gearbox problems forced Frank Kelly out of the rally, handing victory to Shane McGirr.

One place behind the Toyota Starlet in seventh overall was Jonny Leonard, who brought his Mitsubishi home three seconds further back. Raymond Johnston was another local driver who took a class win with his historic Escort. Belleek’s Damian McGauran finished third in class six in his Corrolla, with Declan Campbell taking third in class five.