Alastair Fisher secured second place overall and second in the Irish Tarmac Championship, while Willie Mavitty emerged with the ITRC2 title after a successful Cork 20 International Rally for local crews last weekend.
Alistair went into the event knowing his chances of securing the tarmac title were over, but he was determined to ensure he clung onto the runners up position in the series. He had a solid start to the rally, lying in fourth spot in the early stages, but he hit trouble on stage five of the two day event.
“We were nine seconds off the pace after the first two stages and then on stage five about two kilometres from the end the car cut out,” explained Alastair. 
“It was a narrow piece of road and I had to run up the road to slow the next cars down but Gordon got the car going again after he switched the master switch on and off a few times. We lost about three and a half minutes. 
“We were down to sixth overall at the end of the day we fought back.”
That fight back saw him climb to fourth place at the start of the final stage, but there was plenty more drama in store. 
Josh Moffatt, who was challenging for the lead, crashed out in sight of the finishing line and Alistair overhauled Joe McGonigle to claim second. 
Although it was not the championship title he was chasing, Alastair was content with how his season ended. 
“Second was not what we set out for at the beginning of the year but it is still some reward for our efforts and we have had some good results on rallies throughout the year,” he said.
Enniskillen’s William Mavitty was going for the ITRC2 title which is open to Group N and S2000 cars, and having put together a solid run of points scoring finishes in recent rounds all he had to do was start the event and secure the five bonus point to confirm his name as the champion. 
He was hoping to finish his season in style however, and that was what he achieved, despite a troubled start. 
“We started off very well and settled into a good rhythm in the wet,” he revealed. 
“The first stage was cancelled but we had a good push on stage two and took 25 seconds out of Cathan McCourt, but on the way into service she developed a small misfire. 
“I got into service and the boys changed the spark plugs but she continued to misfire, and continued to do it for the whole rally. We changed petrol pumps, regulator, throttle sensors, everything we could but we couldn’t get it fixed. 
“That meant that my lead that I got on the second stage started to disappear. Cathan got in front of us but then he developed a problem on Sunday and it put him out of the rally and left us leading the class.”
William can now add his latest trophy to the Celtic Trophy, which he secured on the previous Rally Isle of Man. 
He has also qualified for an end of season shoot out in Portugal and he is hoping to raise enough funds to be able to take part. 
“It is all down to the pounds,” he admitted. “If we can go we will because it is a great opportunity to maybe come back as a European Champion.”
Regardless of what happens in Portugal, William admitted the season has exceeded his expectations.
 “After the problem we had in the first round in Galway and things that have happened to us all season, I didn’t think we would be in contention for the championship,” he said. “Even in Cork I knocked the wheel on the first stage on Sunday morning when I hit a big stone. It knocked the wheel out of line and we dropped a bit of time, but we got it back into service and the boys were once again able to get it sorted out. The boys have been able to fix the car when needed and keep it going.”