BERTIE FISHER of Ballinamallard, Co Fermanagh, and Rory Kennedy of Letterkenny, in a Subaru Impreza 555, won the AA Circuit of Ireland by the impressive margin of three minutes 37 seconds.

They were well clear over the final stages in Northern Ireland yesterday, but such is the competitive nature of Fisher that on the penultimate stage, 5536 at Mullaghdaly, he set the fastest time of seven minutes 23 seconds.

Austin McHale in a Toyota Celica GT4 had 11 seconds in hand over James Cullen in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth, which consolidated second overall for McHale - the gap at the finish being 35 seconds.

Fisher put on a show for the large crowd in Lurgan Park, the final stage of the longest tarmac rally in Europe, setting a time of one minute 15 seconds, two seconds faster than McHale and Cullen.

Fisher and Kennedy led from the Good Friday start and in the absence of double winner Stephen Finlay, were never under serious threat as they dictated the pace to win their second Circuit, having won the rally in 1995. The expected challenge from Andrew Nesbitt vanished when the Armagh driver put his Toyota Celica GT4 off the road and out of the rally on the second stage.

A major disappointment was the poor form of McHale, down to sixth overall at the end of the first day. McHale really had the bit between his teeth on Saturday and closed on the third placed Stephen Murphy, but was still over a minute behind Cullen.

After 5525 at Lough Bo on Sunday evening, McHale had narrowed the gap to Cullen to six seconds. He then overhauled Cullen, but was too far in arrears to effectively challenge Fisher. Liam O'Callaghan of Kanturk had to be satisfied with fourth place in his Celica GT4, after failing to go the distance on the shorter Galway International.

In the battle for fifth, Stephen Murphy beat his perennial rival Eamon Boland, the gap between the two Ford Escort RS Cosworth drivers being 33 seconds.