Luke Pinder and co-driver Peter Scott saw off the opposition in the Swift Sport Cup on the Rally Isle of Man last weekend thanks to a blend of raw speed and years of experience.

Pinder and Scott took a 33 second lead from local driver David Harrison on the first competitive section of the rally and then added another 13 on the following stage.

From then on it was all about getting the car to the finish and monitoring the opposition - although they still set the fastest stage times in the Swifts and R1 class on every test, bar the final two, when they were cruising.

"I had a massive advantage because Peter has vast experience of the Manx roads," Pinder reflected, after not only taking the Swift Sport Cup honours, but also scoring an emphatic R1 class win and finishing tenth overall in the BRC classification.

"The plan was to stun the other Swift crews with a couple of quick times, pull out a gap and keep an eye on the times and it worked very well.

"The car was faultless all rally, in fact the only problem we had was catching and passing more powerful cars."

For the record, victory on the Isle of Man elevates Pinder and Scott to the top of the 2009 Swift Sport Cup championship, once dropped scores are taken into account.