Michael Igoe and Will Atkins left it late to claim victory in an eventful MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages rally on Saturday (17 January).

The Citroen C3 Rally2 duo were contenders at the front all the way through but faced serious challenges from a number of competitors. Patrick O’Donovan and Sven Grube set the early pace in their Hyundai i20 R5, heading into the lunch break with a 19-second advantage. However, their impressive performance would be in vain, as the pair would later be disqualified after a split junction infringement.

A tight battle then emerged between Igoe/Watkins and the Citroen C3 Rally 2 of Richard Weatherley and Shaun Layland. Heading into the final stage, the hard-charging Weatherly had closed the gap to just six seconds, but a last-gasp showdown was not to be after the chasing pair suffered a major oil leak with just one more lap to go, forcing them into retirement.

Igoe and Atkins therefore took the win with a time of 29m22s, followed by the Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 of Stuart Maloney and Kristian Yearwood, 18 seconds behind the victors. John Stone and Rhys Stoneman were a further 11 seconds back in their VW Polo GTi R5 to claim third place, while John Griffiths and Emma Morrison survived an early crash to recover to fourth. The Ford Fiesta Rally2 of Mark Maloney and Steve McNulty rounded out the top five.

MGJ Engineering Brands Hatch Winter Stages results:
1. Michael Igoe/Will Atkins, Citroën C3 Rally2, 29m22s
2. Stuart Maloney/Kristian Yearwood, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, +18s
3. John Stone/Rhys Stoneman, VW Polo GTi R5, + 29s
4. John Griffiths/Emma Morrison, Skoda Fabia R5, +38s
5. Sean Quigley/Colin Quigley, Ford Fiesta Rally2, +49s
6. Mark Maloney/Steve McNulty, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, + 53s
7. Joshua Davey/Tamsyn Davey, Darrian T90, +1m03s
8. Alfie Threlfall/Patrick Cross, Mitsubishi Lancer E10, +1m29s
9. George Sherman/Neil Colman, Skoda Fabia RS Rally2, + 2m32s
10. Connor O’Brien/Jack Morton, Ford Fiesta Rally3, +2m44s

To view the full stage results, click here.