Kilrea's Conor McCloskey sealed victory at this year's FM Contracts Down Rally, round nine of the Pacenotes MSA Northern Ireland Rally Championship, while Strabane's Sean Devine retired his Impreza WRC and Cookstown's Glenn Allen failed to start the event.
 
Devine, who could have sealed the 2008 championship title had he claimed victory at the Castlewellan based event, trailed Conor McCloskey from the start. Five seconds slower on the first stage, Devine lost more time on stage three when he was slowed by another competing car that had lost a wheel.
 
Suddenly, McCloskey's advantage was increased to a seemingly unassailable 41 seconds, but on the following stage he stalled, losing 23 seconds! Devine and navigator Damien Duffin were fastest through stage five, leaving a 16 second margin between the two crews with two stages remaining.
 
Stage six, Drumkeeragh, proved to be the championship leader's downfall. Once again, Devine was thwarted by another competitor that was stuck in the middle of the stage. He tried to drive around the stricken car but spun and damaged his Impreza's steering. The stage was later cancelled and although Devine was able to make the finish, he was unable to complete the final test.
 
Devine's retirement allowed Conor McCloskey and Francis Regan coast through the final Tollymore stage, claiming victory by more than one minute. The result sees McCloskey move to the head of the championship standings with one round remaining, but when 'dropped' scores are taken into account, McCloskey and Devine are on even terms.
 
Championship regulations state that competitors may discount their three lowest scores from their championship tally. Devine has three no-scores, while McCloskey has two. Taking McCloskey's lowest score of eight points into account, both men enter the final round on a total of 84 championship points.
 
In the Sunoco Fuels Group N category, Cathal and Eoighan Rogers boosted their production category championship hopes by taking victory in their class as well as second overall. They finished 30 seconds in front of John Walker and Dessie Wilson, while PJ Gillespie and Mary O'Kane were fourth ahead of Alan Carmichael and Ivor Lamont.