Copyright © STOBART
	Copyright © STOBART

Reigning British Rally Championship (BRC) title-holder Mark Higgins snatched victory on the final stage of the Jim Clark rally after a tumultuous battle with erstwhile leader Mitsubishi Motors UK driver Rory Galligan.

The event is the second round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, and was run over two days on tarmac roads in the Kelso area south east of Edinburgh. It is the first tarmac event of the season and is Britain's only rally to be run on closed public roads.

Faultless throughout the two days, Stobart VK Subaru driver Higgins drove a storming race to finish - amazingly - with exactly the same time of 2 hours 9 minutes 27.3 seconds over the 21 stages as rival Galligan. Victory was awarded to Higgins by virtue of the fact that his opening stage time was quicker than his rival's. It was the first time the tie-breaking rule was used since the BRC has been timed to a tenth of a second.

Leg one saw Galligan leading, but a mistake on SS6 dropped the gap to a scant 0.7 seconds. Higgins knew he was within striking distance.

"I was on the limit for the last three stages," said Higgins. "I could not have pushed any harder and it feels so good to win. I've finished second so many times that I really feel for Rory, he drove so well for the entire rally."

The victory puts Higgins into the lead of the driver standings in the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship, but only by a very slim three points. His nearest rival is Ryan Champion, winner of the recent Pirelli International Rally, and who finished an impressive third here, less than a minute off the lead pair.

The next round of the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship is once again on tarmac with the Rally Isle of Man on August 3-5.