Local man Ian Tunney and co-driver Chris Sanderson successfully completed the might of the Roger Albert Clark Rally (RAC) last weekend.

The ceremonial start took place in Carmarthen last Thursday, followed by four gruelling days of competition involving 350 competitive stage miles.

It began in the forests of Wales, before moving up to Scotland and then heading to the notorious Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

The final stage of the event was aptly titled ‘The Big One’ at a huge 38 miles in length.

A huge entry of 175 crews started the rally, with 99 managing to complete the arduous event.

World Rally Championship stars Oliver Solberg, Kris Meeke and Chris Ingram tackled the event, but none of them made it to the finish.

Tunney and Bury man Sanderson competed in a two-litre ex-factory Mitsubishi Starion that had been fully restored by the driver and his two sons, Luke and Ross.

With the event mileage totaling 1,200 it wasn’t without drama and a catalogue of mechanical gremlins resulted in long hours for the service and chase crews.

The Starion had been through four fuel pumps before the halfway point of the event.

On the penultimate day (Sunday), and still battling with fuel pump issues, the team suffered brake pipe failure and then a rear strut broke.

It proved another long night for them.

With the car back in shape, Tunney drove the car with a gentle touch to get through to the finish. The final five stages were challenging, and the ‘Killer Kielder’ forest ditches continued to claim victims.

The Onchan man preserved the car safely and made it home in 87th place overall, first in class.

Along the way, he raised £2,350 for Hospice Isle of Man, almost double his original target.

His JustGiving page, ‘1,200 miles for Hospice’, remains open for the foreseeable future. If you’d like to donate go to the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/1200milesforhospice - 100% of donations go to Hospice Isle of Man.

Ian would like to thank everyone for their support, none more so than his wife Jacqui and sons Luke and Ross.

Big thanks to all the contributions from: Manx Powder Coating, PACE, Loe Bank Motors, Automotive Events, PD Extinguishers, Motordrive, G-Force, Positec, Macro Metal Services, Auto Sparks, Questmead Ltd, Cu-Plas, Phil Shaw Vehicles, West Performance, TK Automotive, Mason Doors and Windows.

Stephen Higgins of Douglas retired his Saab 96 on stage 15 with Corey-Powell Jones of Barnsley.

Rory McCann and his father Paul went out on stage 18 with the 1.6-litre Hillman Avenger; and Steven Ormond-Smith and John Tear were forced to retire their Ford Escort RS1600 on stage 30.

Damian Bird of Ballasalla co-drove John Brazier of Cleobury Mortimer to 66th place (ninth in class) in a Ford Escort RS1800.