However, the day was not without its problems: Faulkner picking up a front puncture five miles into the fourth Griffin stage, followed by a visit to a ditch.

The crew had no alternative but to limp through the final 4 miles of the stage, dropping 30 seconds to the second place Andy Horne and moving to sixth overall.

“We tried everything to limit the loss of time and were still carrying speeds of 100 mph with a flat front”, reflected Faulkner.

Once again Faulkner traded stage times with long-time sparring partner Steven Clark in his Evo 4 - just one second separatng them at the end.

Clark clinched the Group N title on what for him and co-driver Michelle Falconer was a "trouble-free" event, after seeing his main rival Barry Groundwater first pick up a puncture on SS2 and then being forced to retire when the rear differential of his Evo 9 packed in on SS4.

Scottish Borders' driver Euan Thorburn, with Claire Mole on the notes, tied with Clark after another strong performance at the wheel of his dad Alistair's Subaru Impreza N10, but had to settle for eighth, having been slower through the first stage.

The final two top ten places were held down by Irish Escort Mk2 ace Martin McCormack and navigator Liam Moynihan who finished five seconds ahead of Finland's Jarkko and Petri Nikara in a Ford Fiesta ST.

Newton Stewart's Mark McCulloch and co-driver Craig Wallace secured the Scottish Junior Championship in their Peugeot 205 GTi - despite the pair having to push the car to the finish line in Perth city centre, after the clutch and starter motor failed.

It proved to be a day of attrition for many competitors on the challenging Perthshire stages - forty of the 140 starters failed to finish - including Irish world rally star Kris Meeke, former British champion Russell Brookes, and ex-British Superbike rider and Mk2 exponent John Crawford, who had the satisfaction of catching and passing both Hannu Mikkola and Malcolm Wilson in their respective Mk2's.