Donegal's Shaun Gallagher, WRC rookie of the year, produced the drive of his life at Rally GB in Wales, the final round of the World Rally Championship.
Gallagher, in his first works drive in a Citroen C2, had an excellent second place finish in the Junior-World Rally Championship after overcoming the loss of nearly half an hour on day one.
He suffered severe setbacks on Friday with a crash on stage one, followed by two punctures and mechanical problems, costing the Irish man 28 minutes.
But Gallagher conjured up an astounding comeback, winning 10 out of the 17 stages over the last three days to claw back all that lost time and earn his second place finish.
Shaun Gallagher said: 'It was all or nothing after Friday. It was very difficult with heavy rain and visibility down to 10% with severe fog.
'Unfortunately I had a crash on the first stage, which cost me nearly half an hour. I am thrilled that I was able to claw back over 28 minutes yesterday. I want to thank all the sponsors who made this year possible for World Rally Team Ireland.'
Tommy Mullen, Team Ireland CEO, added: 'After the comeback that Shaun Gallagher staged this weekend in Rally GB, it really proves that he is a true world champion and has huge potential for the future.
'World Rally Team Ireland is looking forward to competing in the first round of the World Rally Championship which takes place in Mexico, February 2008.'
