IN an era when four-wheel-drive turbocharged cars dominate rallying, Calum Duffy's performance on the Philips Tour of Mull was nothing less than brilliant.

Victory -- by over a minute and a half -- in an elderly Ford Escort over a field packed with state-of-the-art motorsport machinery was a testament to the Mull driver's skill and commitment.

"After winning last year, I really wanted to do it again, " he said.

But the four-times Mull winner didn't have it all his own way, only taking the lead when Tour of Mull legend Neil Mackinnon retired on stage nine with a blown engine in his Subaru WRC.

And he survived a scare on the second leg, when the oil pressure suddenly dropped, damaging their engine.

" I had to back off a bit, but fortunately the problem wasn't as bad as it first seemed," he explained.

"Although there was some damage to the engine, I was able to make the re-start and got my confidence back after the first two stages.

"I took it steady on the long Tuath/Calgary test and then really went for it on the Lochs. If the engine was going to go it would have been there, luckily for us it didn't!"

Second place went to fellow Scotsmen James MacGillivray and Ian Fraser, who overcame a blown turbo and an accident-damaged rear end on their Impreza.

Bury brothers John and Tony Cope came home a delighted third, beating off a challenge from Tony Bardy at the last gasp.

Cope and Bardy went into the last stage dead-level, but only the Impreza WRC emerged at the finish, Bardy crashing out on the Hill Road test.

Top East Lancashire finishers were the husband-and-wife team of John and Paula Swinscoe, from Brinscall, who were delighted to bring their Mitsubishi Evo home in fourth place.

Organised by the 2300 Club of Blackburn, the event drew universal approval from competitors and spectators alike, with clerk-of-the-course Clive Molyneux and his team singled out for praise.

He said: "Everything was in our favour this year. We had great weather, a good route and few stoppages.

"And I've already started planning next year's route. Hopefully, we'll be able to squeeze out a few more miles to make it even better."