Round 5 of Motorsport Ireland Junior National Rally Championship.
Peter Wilson had his first National Junior rally win on the ALMC Rally, run on his native County Meath. The Kells driver had a number of agonising near misses on earlier rounds but a brilliant drive on the changing conditions last Sunday netted him a famous victory. Wilson was driving a Honda Civic and he won the nine stage event by one minute and twenty five seconds. The result lifts him to second overall in the championship
In second place was another Meath driver in a Honda. Jack Newman is from Ashbourne and it was his best result of the year. Third was claimed by Killian Duffy in a Citroen C2R2 and he was less than a minute behind Newman. Duffy is the current Dunlop National Rally Champion Codriver.
Eamon Power was fourth overall in his Peugeot 106 and that keeps him in contention for the championship. In the main field Power finished 28th overall and won class 10 by almost five minutes. Championship leader Vincent Mc Aree was in fifth position in another 106 and would have been third but for an off on stage six that cost him almost two minutes. In sixth place was Michael Mc Kennedy, in the Toyota Corolla Twin Cam-the only rear wheel drive car in the championship.
Seventh place was a poor return for Jason Ryan after a huge drive. The winner of the first round in Tipperary harried Wilson all day. Ryan was fastest on stage four and had four second fastest times. He was in second place, 22 seconds adrift of Wilson when an engine sensor in the Civic malfunctioned costing eight minutes. The five championship points will take some of the sour taste away. Ross Forde drove his Suzuki Swift to eight place and into third place in the championship.
In ninth place was Patrick Cunningham and like Jason Ryan he deserved better. Cunningham was the winner in the second round in Limerick and was up to second on Sunday when electrical problems resulted in huge time loss on stages eight and nine.
Perhaps the most disappointed driver was Colin O'Toole. The Opel Corsa driver had a lean year to date, with a few early retirements. On the ALMC he won three stages and was third, just behind Wilson and Ryan when a driveshaft failed on stage six. At least O'Toole got the opportunity to demonstrate his pace in the Corsa.
Wilson was delighted with his result. His decision to start the day on wets proved crucial as the first two stages were damp from overnight rain. He had a twenty second lead after two stages. He held this cushion into the mid part of the rally and extended it to over a minute when Ryan, O'Toole and Cunningham encountered trouble.
Leaders SS 1 to 8 P. Wilson.
Stage winners P.Wilson (4), C.O'Toole (3),J.Ryan (1) and E.Power (1).
Thirteen juniors started the rally and there were four retirements: Damien Mc Carthy (electrics SS1), Sarah Moynihan (mechanical SS2), Bernard Mulvihill ( accident SS3) and Colin O'Toole (driveshaft SS6).
After five rounds Vincent Mc Aree leads the NJRC with 36 points ahead of Peter Wilson (32), Ross Forde (30), Power (28) and Damien Mc Carthy (26).
Championship Positions after Round 5 - ALMC Rally; 6th July
| Place | Name | Points |
| 1 | Vincent McAreee | 36 |
| 2 | Peter Wilson | 32 |
| 3 | Ross Forde | 30 |
| 4 | Eamon Power | 28 |
| 5 | Mark Sheahan | 26 |
| = | Damien McCarthy | 26 |
| 7 | Patrick Cunningham | 24 |
| 8 | Jason Ryan | 20 |
| = | Jack Newman | 20 |
| 10 | Adrian Levis | 18 |
| 11 | Bernard Mulvihill | 16 |
| 12 | Michael McKennedy | 15 |
| 13 | Sarah Moynihan | 14 |
| 14 | Mark Lane | 12 |
| 15 | Killian Duffy | 10 |
| 16 | Connor Kelly | 8 |
| 17 | Colm Cronin | 6 |
| = | John Byrnes | 6 |
| 19 | James Browne | 3 |
| = | Colin O'Toole | 3 |