On his one and only attempt at the Donegal International Rally, Stephen Finlay left with the winners trophy. In treacherous conditions over the opening two days he was fighting with Bertie Fisher for the lead but Fisher slipped off the road on Saturday afternoon allowing Finlay to cruise home with an eventual winning margin of three and a half minutes. Kenny McKinstry recovered to finish second after a disastrous opening day keeping his Irish Tarmac Rally Championship hopes alive.