The Pomeroy building contractor won the two-day Jim Walsh Memorial Rally in the Co Cork forests to clinch the Irish title for the first time. It was his fifth maximum points score of the season and he becomes champion with a round to spare.

Moore, who is also in second place in the Northern Ireland championship, was intent on just finishing the Cork event in a respectable top five position to secure his championship position. But after running in a steady third in his Ford Focus for much of the rally he was in the perfect position to take advantage when the top two hit trouble.

Omagh driver Brian McGillin had been in second place when his Hyundai Accent suffered transmission failure during the second leg yesterday and then the leader, local lad Keith Cronin in his production Mitsubishi Lancer, lost momentum as the forest roads dried out and he was unable to match the power of Moore's M-Sport Focus.

Behind 20-year-old Cronin, Ulster drivers filled the next seven places with former forest champion Kevin O'Kane taking third in his Subaru ahead of the Mitsubishis of Colin Britton and Cathal Rogers.

Emma McKinstry recorded her best finish of the series with a strong sixth in her Subaru and Adrian Hetherington (Ford Escort), John McGaffin (Subaru) and Colm McBride (Mitsubishi) finished in seventh, eighth and ninth places respectively.

There was an important victory, too, for Carryduff teenager Jonny Greer who won the Ford Fiesta Challenge section of the rally but second place for young Alistair Fisher from Enniskillen moved him into the lead in the series.

But they are now separated by just two points.