Nigel Cannell and Nick Kaighin scored a dominant win on the Haydn Minay Memorial Stages Rally in their Mitsubishi Evo IX at the weekend, reports Chris Boyde.

They were fastest on every stage on day two (Saturday) at Conrhenny plantation and Glion GIll to have a margin of two minutes in hand at the TT Grandstand finish.

Scott Bradshaw and Howard Allison (Mitsubishi Evo III) led after Friday night’s initial four tests at South Barrule and Stoney Mountain plantations by a solitary second, and maintained second place throughout Saturday despite tyre problems.

Northern Ireland’s Shane McGirr and Martin McGarritty held third spot from the start, finishing 22 seconds down on Bradshaw and best two-wheel drive in their diminutive Toyota Starlet.

The BMW E30s of George Collister/Adam Yates and Dan Colley/Rob Fagg were next, with UK driver Tony Shields and navigator Stephen Christian (BMW Compact) completing the top six.

Only 16 of the original 26 crews that started made the finish.

Haydn Minay Memorial Stages Rally - top 10: 1, Nigel Cannell/Nick Kaighin (Mitsubishi Evo IX) 42min 47sec; 2, Scott Bradshaw/Howard Alison (Mitsubishi Evo III) 44.47; 3, Shane McGirr/Martin McGarritty (Toyota Starlet) 45.09;

4, George Collister/Adam Yates (BMW E30) 47.34; 5, Dan Colley/Rob Fagg (BMW E30) 49.37; 6, Tony Shields/Stephen Christian (BMW E33)

50.34; 7, Steven Ormond-Smith/Andy Dudgeon (Mitsubishi Evo VII) 50.59; 8, Luke Tunney/Mike Quayle (BMW E36 Compact) 51.05; 9, Kevin Jeffray/Cara Boalch (Subaru Legacy RS) 51.21; 10 ,Matthew Bettridge/Ian Postlethwaite (Vauxhall Nova) 51.23.

l A full report and more pictures will appear in Thursday’s edition of the Manx Independent.