Welshman Melvyn Evans took his second victory in the RBS International Manx Rally today as Roger Duckworth claimed the honours in the 2008 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship as he finished second overall.

Evans and Irish co-driver Sean Mullally finished 50.9 seconds ahead of Duckworth and co-driver Mark Broomfield in their Subaru Impreza WRC to win the event for the first time since 2002.

Duckworth and Broomfield were making a return to competition following their accident on the Cork 20 International Rally in October and despite losing a considerable amount of time on stage seven with a clutch slipping, posted a solid performance to take maximum points in the ANCRO-organised 2008 Pirelli Gravel Rally Championship in their Subaru Impreza WRC.

"We've had a good run," Duckworth said. "That's the sixth time we've been second on this event! It's been good and I'm happy with the comeback we've made after the Cork 20 and to get the points in the championship but I'm upset not to have won the Tony Davies award for the fastest times through the two Kella stages."

Championship leaders Jon Ingram and co-driver Ian Allsop, who won round two, finished third in their different, hired, right-hand drive Subaru Impreza WRC. The crew battled through several problems and were doubtful if they would continue at the restart on Saturday after they had an issue with the gearbox.

They also had a problem with the diff on the first stage on Saturday but battled back to make the podium and increase their lead to 13 points.

Irish crew Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors finished fifth overall, first in Group N, took third place in the Gravel Championship and won the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge.

It was Cronin's first time in the Isle of Man and he showed some good pace despite a puncture on the final stage in his Mitsubishi Evo 9 to end up behind the Audi A3 Quattro of David Kynaston/Andy Russell.

Neil McCance and Graham Hopewell were sixth in their Mitsubishi Evo and second in Group N followed by Stephen Moore and Tony McHugh in the Ford Focus WRC. Daniel Barry and Mark Bowens overcame the odds to finish eighth overall and sixth in the Gravel series in their Mitsubishi Evo.

At one point the pair thought they would not make the finish after they picked up substantial damage to the rear end of their car on stage seven.

Reigning champions Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery rounded off the top ten in their Hyundai Accent WRC behind the Metro 6R4 of John and Caroline Price.

Dodd had been a solid third overall heading into the final stage but an off cost them a considerable amount of time after they had earlier struggled with a puncture and a turbo problem.

Bad luck of the rally went to Richard Cathcart and Martin Brady in their Group N Mitsubishi Evo machine.

The pair had shown blistering form on their first visit to the Manx stages and were fourth and leading Group N ahead of the penultimate test before a puncture and a lost wheel cost them enough time to put them OTL.

The Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship will return in a brief three weeks for round four, the Builth Wells-based Severn Valley Rally on Saturday 30 May.

Provisional Classification

1, Melvyn Evans/Sean Mullally                  Subaru Impreza WRC            1h:41m:40.0s
2, Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield      Subaru Impreza WRC            1:42:30.9
3, Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop                            Subaru Impreza WRC            1:44:06.3
4, David Kynaston/Andy Russell              Audi A3 Quattro                       1:44:12.9
5, Keith Cronin/Greg Shinnors                  Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9           1:45:11.6
6, Neil McCance/Graham Hopewell          Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9          1:45:58.9
7, Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh              Ford Focus WRC                   1:46:24.1
8, Daniel Barry/Mark Bowens                   Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9          1:47:36.7
9, John Price/Caroline Price                     MG Metro 6R4                         1:47:39.3
10, Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery           Hyundai Accent WRC             1:47:46.0

 Provisional Championship Standings (after Round 3)

1, Jon Ingram 66 points
2, Daniel Barry 53 points
3, Neil McCance 48 points
4, Marcus Dodd 41 points
5, Nik Elsmore 41 points
6, Andy Burton 38 points
7, Stephen Moore 38 points