Round 4: ALMC Stages Rally, 7 July

Paul Bird took a narrow victory on the Dunboyne-based ALMC Stages Rally after a nail-biting finish.

Bird and runner-up Damian Cole had been as close as one second apart during the afternoon, but Bird pushed the final margin to six seconds to take his second outright win of the season.

Championship leaders Steve Simpson and co-driver Patrick Walsh were third, while Hugh Hunter and his navigator Andy Marchbank belied their lack of recent experience on asphalt to take fourth.

Results1 Paul Bird / Aled Davies (Ford Focus WRC) 55m00s2 Damian Cole / James Morgan (Ford Focus WRC) 55m06s3 Steve Simpson / Patrick Walsh  (Subaru Impreza WRC) 55m21s

Provisional championship standings1 Steve Simpson111 points2 Washington James893 Paul Bird874 Damian Cole835 Simon Mauger77