York’s Matt Whattam co-drove his way to an eighth-placed finish in the prestigious Lurgan Park Rally in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Competing against 11-time former winner Kenny McKinstry and rallying legend Jimmy McRae, Whattam and driver Ray Brammam, in the Subaru World Rally Car, exceeded their pre-race target of a top-ten finish, muscling their way into eighth after mechanical difficulties hampered their times in the early stages.

The 2011 rally was Brammer and Whattam’s fourth attempt, and it yielded their best result to date.

Sitting in a disappointing 14th position after the first two stages, the car’s poor handling was investigated by the team mechanics who discovered a broken rear drive-shaft and, once this was replaced, the pair’s performance dramatically improved.

The crew moved up to 11th overall at the rally’s midway point but with a top-ten place in sight Brammam misjudged his braking on a tight bend and the slid off the track onto the grass, costing the duo five precious seconds as they tried to regain the road.

Despite this setback, though, the clocks amazingly still had the car as the eighth fastest for the stage, moving them into that elusive tenth place.

The pair pushed on and two sixth-fastest stage times edged them two places up the leaderboard into eighth.

Despite a stunning fifth-fastest finish on the final stage, they couldn’t quite squeeze into seventh, missing out by less than three seconds.

Whattam and the rest of the team were delighted with the final result and also collected awards for second in class and the highest-placed overseas crew.