Donagh Kelly and Kevin Flanagan were crowned Irish Tarmac Rally Champions for 2015 after taking outright victory in the Ulster Rally.

There was drama right to the final stage, with Donegal driver Donagh Kelly retaking the lead at the end to score his eighth major rally victory this year, adding the Clonakilty Blackpudding Irish Tarmac Championship to the Triton Showers National title he has already won.

Kelly, with his Derry co-driver Kevin Flanagan, took his Focus WRC into the lead on the opening stage near Clogher, while Garry Jennings and Rory Kennedy, who were trying for their third Ulster win in a row, had turbo problems on their Subaru Impreza and dropped well down the placings.

By the overnight halt, Kelly was almost half a minute clear of his nearest challengers, Antrim driver Desi Henry and Monaghan's Stephen
Wright, with Jennings in fourth place, 45 seconds down on the leader.

The Fermanagh man set a cracking pace on day two, while Kelly was very conscious of the need to finish the rally to take the Tarmac title, so
that Jennings blasted into top place on the eighth of the twelve stages and looked all set for his Ulster hat-trick.

However, at the last moment, fate intervened, and with just a few miles of the final Widow Magee stage remaining, Jennings hit a chicane straw
bale, causing damage to the front of his car, which went on fire, forcing instant retirement, and handing top place back to the surprised but delighted Kelly.

Desi Henry held on for a distant second place, but Stephen Wright was a retirement, handing third position to Derek McGeehan and Arthur Kierans. Rob Duggan and Ger Conway were the best crew from the Republic, in seventh place, leaving the young Killarney driver still leading the Carryduff Forklift Road to Wales competition with its prize of an entry in the final round of this year's World Rally Championship in November.