John Warren and Ruthann O'Connor dominated the challenging Galway International Rally stages, steering their McHale Fusion 4 Corolla to an impressive Class 13 victory on the opening round of the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship.

The duo showcased their prowess by claiming the top spot in five of the eight stages on the opening day, setting the tone for a commanding performance.

Warren's natural pace coupled with Ruthann's expert navigation, aided by the familiarity of local stages close to her homeland proved to be a winning combination.

Heading into Sunday's six additional tests in the Monivea area, Warren maintained a substantial Class advantage of over a minute and thirty seconds, illustrating their mastery over the challenging stages and the competitive field.

The Green machine Toyota Corolla excelled in the difficult conditions, aiding the South Mayo husband and wife crew to climb the overall leaderboard, and adding top west of Ireland crew to a fifth place 2-wheel drive finish from over 140 starters.

Speaking afterwards Warren described the event as one of his favourite ever, ‘We pushed hard, we are really happy, It was a very challenging weekend, we can be very proud of what we achieved” added a jubilant Ruthann.

Keith Cronin and Mike Galvin in their Ford Fiesta Rally2 claimed the overall victory, the pair finished 38 seconds ahead of Callum Devine and Noel O’Sullivan in a Volkswagen Polo with Josh Moffet and Andy Hayes third in their Citroen C3.