What few people realised at the time, however, was that this was in fact the second disaster that the team had suffered. After losing drive to the rear wheels on the final Friday stage, Milner's team had discovered at the last service halt that the prop-shaft was cracked and in danger of disintegrating. With none of the right spares to hand, replacements were luckily sourced from Mark Higgins' team (rallying still shows tremendous camaraderie), but with only a slight problem – they were at the David Greer headquarters in Belfast. Some slick organisation got the vital parts on the 2.30am ferry to the Isle of Man, and they arrived at 7. In the meantime, the hardworking crew had spent most of the night stripping the shaft (removed from the car before parc fermé), and they managed to fit the just-arrived bits during the official 10-minute post-parc fermé service without picking up any penalties at the time control. Jonny eventually lost fourth gear as well, but still managed to finish the last stage of the event with only third, earning him a well-deserved third place overall behind Mark Higgins and Andrew Nesbitt. It's determination like this that makes teams winners.
Unluckiest driver on the final day had to be Irishman Dick Curran. He crashed on the last stage whilst lying ninth overall and fourth in Group N and never made the finish at the TT Grandstand in Douglas. For the luckier ones, there was a quick 10-minute service before winner Mark Higgins led the final 31 International finishers over the ramp for the customary champagne shower and a few impromptu doughnuts.
The final top ten were Mark Higgins (after a faultless and trouble-free run); Andrew Nesbitt (having recovered well from his first day's penalty and with more maximum points for the Toshiba Irish Championship); Jonny Milner (still leading the Championship but now only three points ahead of Justin Dale); David Higgins (Group N winner after a tremendous drive); Irish tarmac contender Eamonn Boland; Justin Dale (well-deserved 1600 victor, gathering another maximum haul of 10 PBRC points); Alistair Ginley (a fine second in Group N); Trevor Cathers; local man Robert Watson (a great result); and Steve Petch (having recovered well from his unscheduled off-road experience).
