Northern Ireland Rally Championship results: Jonny Greer off to winning start at Kirkistown

Carryduff's Jonny Greer and Sligo's Darragh Mullen secured victory at today's Orchard Motorsport Kirkistown Stages Rally on Saturday.

The event was the opening round of the McGrady Insurance Motorsport UK Northern Ireland Rally Championship.

Greer snatched the lead from early leader Stephen Wright after stage two and stayed in front until the finish.

Once the reigning champion was out in front, he never let go as he rallied his Citroen C3 home to secure the spoils at what was a tricky day at County Down’s Kirkistown Race Circuit.

“We lost a bit of time on the first stage when another car stopped in front of us,” Greer said.

“After that, we had a clean drive and it's great to get the win!"

The fight for second position went right down to the wire between Phillip Allen and Derek McGarrity.

Former champion McGarrity and navigator Graham Henderson really piled on the pressure in their Skoda Fabia R5 during the closing stages with a string of fastest times. Allen and navigator Emily Turkington were being hunted down and they tried to do everything they could to fend off the challenge over the closing miles.

Going into the final stage, it was Allen who held the upper hand by 1.1s from his rival. However, a delighted McGarrity turned the deficit on its head with another fastest time to seal the runner-up spot by just seven-tenths of a second, leaving Allen to settle for third in his Fiesta R5.

“I was trying too hard,” a frustrated Allen said at the finish. “I was overdriving the car and made a few mistakes.”

Such was the ferocity of competition at Kirkistown that just 5.3s separated the top three overall at the end of the event, with winner Greer claiming the victory by 4.6s from McGarrity.

In the hotly contested