The Donegal Rally produced a surprise result last weekend. It was a surprise in that the winner suffered a setback on the very first stage. James Cullen and Ellen Morgan took their Subaru Impreza to victory in the action packed event after recovering from a first stage puncture which saw them making a dramatic fight back up through the field. Favourites such as Ian Greer in his Toyota Celica GT4 and Bertie Fisher in his Toughmac Subaru Impreza suffered their own dramas during the classic Irish tarmac rally. Greer's Celica failed to meet the minimum weight regulations of 1230 kilograms. It weighed in 18kg's light, which meant that Greer was driving under appeal. Greer held the lead after Friday's stages with Fisher a close second.

The rain-drenched stages of Saturday saw the Greer/Fisher battle continue. By the end of the day James Cullen had made a phenomenal climb up the leaderboard to first place. Austin McHale was in fourth in his Toyota Celica while Frank Meagher was having another steady drive in fifth place. The Kindrum stage saw Greer loose his lead as he slid into a bank loosing some time dropping him to third. Fisher had a big off which caused him to loose twenty minutes before he rejoined the stage. The final stages of the day witnessed Cullen and Andrew Nesbitt in his Impreza, battle for supremacy.

Sunday morning saw Cullen make a cautious start to protect his slender lead. Meagher had moved his Ford Escort WRC into second. Greer was still running in third position. Andrew Nesbitt followed in fourth. Bertie Fisher returned to the leaderboard in sixth position enough to gain him points for the Tarmac Championship. James Cullen returned to Letterkenny to pick up a well-deserved victory. He competed in Donegal under severe financial constraints against the cream of Irish Rallying. This made his victory even sweeter. Greer's final position is the subject of an appeal with the sports governing body Motorsport Ireland. The next round of the Championship is the Stena Lines Ulster Rally on July 29th to 31st. The Car Enthusiast will be back with all the news from that event.

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