Devine and O'Sullivan make it five on the trot in Killarney

The record-equalling pair finished 13.2s in front of Kilkenny's Eddie Doherty and his Limerick co-driver Tom Murphy.

KERRY GOLD: Callum Devine and Noel O'Sullivan compete in their Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 during the Assess Ireland International Rally of the Lakes round 4 of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship at Killarney, Co Kerry. Pic: Philip Fitzpatrick/Sportsfile

In a pulsating battle that went right to the final stage Derry's Callum Devine and his Killarney co-driver Noel O'Sullivan took a record equalling five in a row on the Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes in Killarney.

They finished 13.2s in front of Kilkenny's Eddie Doherty and his Limerick co-driver Tom Murphy, both in Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars. Donegal's David Kelly and his Killarney co-driver Shane Buckley, in yet another Skoda, were just over a minute further behind in third. Monaghan's Josh Moffett and Wexford's Andy Hayes (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2) edged out the Skoda of the Donegal/Welsh combination of Matthew Boyle/Sion Williams for fourth spot on the final stage Killarney's Rob Duggan and co-driver John McCarthy (Ford Escort) won the Modified category while Donegal duo John O'Donnell/Paddy Robinson (BMW M3) took a start to finish victory in the Historic category.

Through Saturday's first leg, the battle for supremacy between Devine and Doherty raged throughout with less than a handful of seconds separating the pair as the lead changed hands no fewer than four occasions - starting and finishing with Devine.

Indeed, the Derry driver's advantage from the opening and iconic Moll's Gap was 3.9s - the biggest margin of the day.

With the majority opting for a hard slick, a rain shower just before the start led to many having slides over the classic test. Josh Moffett was at a loss to explain why his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 spun as he traversed the section near the lake, it was a time-consuming and high-speed incident and he had to switch to road mode when smoke emanated from his Toyota. He finished the stage in 13th place - 33.9s behind rally leader Devine, who had Doherty as his closest rival. The Donegal and Skoda trio of Kevin Eves, David Kelly and Matthew Boyle followed as local ace Rob Duggan (Ford Escort) broke the Skoda sequence.

Doherty moved into the lead on SS2 and held top spot until SS5 where Devine reclaimed the position. SS4 was cancelled when a bale wasn't placed at its designated spot. Just as he did last year Devine struggled over the stage at Gortnagane where commitment had to be at the maximum in order to gain time. However, Doherty was the only driver to break the seven-minute barrier on SS6 and was duly rewarded with the recovery of the lead role - 2.6s ahead of Devine as tyre choice was kept very much in-house. An altercation with a bale cost Eves time, positional places and some superficial damage and by SS6 he had dropped to eighth. Moffett's progress was on n an upward spiral and he slotted into fifth behind the all-Skoda quartet that was completed by Matthew Boyle. Devine won both of the closing two stages and held an overnight advantage of 3.5s.

On yesterday's (Sunday) first run over the iconic Moll's Gap Devine increased his advantage to 8.1 seconds but Doherty clawed back time on Ballagbeama duly cutting the deficit to 4.1 seconds only for Devine to add 2.3s from the Shanera test. Tyre choice was key especially with rain predicted, although it didn't arrive while the leading contenders were on stage.

On the repeat of "The Gap" Devine, with his best ever time on the stage, increased his lead to 15s, indeed, it was his pace over Moll's Gap that paved the way for a famous 13.2 second victory and the unique five in a row - incidentally, Devine was born the same year the late and great Bertie Fisher completed his five in a row in 1994. Doherty certainly ensured Devine's famous five was far from easy. Kelly finished a solid third and Moffett took a final stage win to edge out Matthew Boyle for fourth.

Elsewhere, local hero Rob Duggan in his Class 14 Escort was a class apart in the Modified category with a start to finish victory, the performance of Banteer's Barry Meade and Halfway's Colin Fitzgerald in their Class 13 Escort, who took second spot was also noteworthy.

In the Historic section that was won by Donegal's John O'Donnell (BMW M3) second place for Dunmanway's Jason McSweeney (Ford Escort WRC) was enough to regain the lead of the series.

The Ladysbridge/Ardfield crew of Darragh Walsh/Gary Lombard (Honda Civic) took an impressive victory in the Junior category.

Assess Ireland Rally of the Lakes (Round 4, Napa Auto Parts Irish Tarmac Rally Championship) Killarney: 1. C. Devine/N. O'Sullivan (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2) 1h. 26m. 58.9s; 2. E. Doherty/T. Murphy (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+13.2s; 3. D. Kelly/S. Buckley (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 13.4s; 4. J. Moffett/A. Hayes (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+1m. 25.7s; 5. Matthew Boyle/S. Williams (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 27.9s; 6. Michael Boyle/D. Boyle (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+1m. 47.9s; 7. D. Boyle/P. Walsh (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+2m. 45.6s; 8. E. Kelly/C. Mohan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)+2m. 57.8s; 9. K. Eves/C. Melly (Skoda Fabia RS Rally2)+3m. 22.6s; 10. K. Grogan/A. Sherlock (Ford Fiesta Rally2)+3m. 27.3s.

Historics: 1. J. O'Donnell/P. Robinson (BMW M3) 1h. 36s. 54.3s; 2. J. McSweeney/L. Brennan (Ford Escort WRC)+40.3s; 3. F. O'Meara/B. Duggan (BMW M3)+1m. 07.3s.

Juniors: 1. D. Walsh/G. Lombard (Honda Civic) 52m. 10.3s; 2. A. Reid/C. Reid (Honda Civic)+2m. 2.8s; 3. C. Hynes/C. Fallon (Honda Civic)+3m. 36.8s.

Masters: 1. T. Fitzmaurice/F. Foley (Subaru Impreza WRC) 49m. 09.6s; 2. S. Greaney/J. Folan (Toyota Corolla WRC)+10.2s; 3. A. MacHale/B. Murphy (Ford Focus WRC)+1m. 59.3s.