McNeill had suffered crippling time penalties for service irregularities with a third of the rally remaining, but after Atlanta-based Seamus Burke returned to Courtown just before seven apparently holding the status of winner, officials decided to strip the Northerner of the penalty points, giving him the margin needed to sneak a dramatic and extremely unlikely win.

McNeill was lying 14 minutes 22 seconds behind Burke at the end of the nine stages, but after the final traversal of Askamore and the return to Courtown, race chiefs had a change of heart, handing the Northern Ireland driver a 38-second victory.

Burke hadn't planned in taking part in the rally in the first place, but made last-minute arrangements after hearing about the event whilst on holiday from Georgia.

The Donegal-born driver had been based in Enniscorthy for many years, before settling in the southern states of America.

He returns Stateside with the runners-up trophy - still quite a feat after knocking Eamonn Boland back to third.

The local star had won the last four Wexford Stages Rallies and finished a creditable 23rd in last month's Network Q Rally of Great Britain - the fifth best driver outside of the major world teams.

Boland eventually finished 104 seconds down on McNeill, 56" behind Burke.

John Donnelly ended the day in fourth, one place ahead of Niall Driver.

Earlier, almost half the top ten from the opening two stages crashed out soon after their first service in Kildavin.

Second-placed John McCarthy, Dermot Kelly in third, fourth-placer Seamus Burke and Noel Driver in joint tenth ALL filed to make it back intact to the next service, after Stage Six.

OVERALL PROVISIONAL  - FINAL
 1  5 Dominic McNeill/Francis Regan        Ballymena      Escort Cosworth     41:11
 2 16 Seamus Burke/Brian Sharpe            California     Mitsubishi Evo5     41:49
 3  6 Eamonn Boland/Damien Morrissey       Wexford        Subaru WRC          42:35
 4  2 John Donnelly/Greg McCarthy          Ballymena/Cork Escort Cosworth     43:13
 5  4 Niall Driver/Francis Corrigan        Wicklow        Mitsubishi Evo 6    43:58
 6 24 Martin Byrne/Stephen Byrne           Wicklow        Ford Fiesta         45:51
 7 15 David James/Ron Guha                 Wexford/Dublin MkII Escort         46:32
 8 22 Darren Dagge/Graham Dagge            Wicklow        Escort              47:11
 9 17 Michael Nevin/Mark Kane              Offaly         Escort              47:12
10 23 Ray Benskin/Peadar Walsh             Cork           Escort              47:26
11 18 Michael Tynan/Colin Brady            Antrim         Astra               47:28
12 14 Eddie Kinirons/Tom Kinirons                         Mitsubishi Evo 3    48:19
13 32 Alan Shinnors/Brian Duggan                          Peugeot             48:57
14 35 Seamus Anderson/Dermot Harrington                   Escort              49:00
15 28 Jason Roche/Tom Snell                               Escort              49:32
16 30 Alan Cummins/Raymond Grace                          Escort              49:38
17 49 Mark Kennedy/Derek Kennedy                          Corsa               49:40
18 43 Joe Conway/John Mills                               Escort              49:43
19 21 Oliver Williams/David Moynihan                      Escort              50:39
20 33 Alan Mulcahy/Alan Kinsella                          Starlet             51:00