Cumbria’s finest went head-to-head during the final round of the Prestone MSA British Rally Championship last week – M-Sport and Irish driver Keith Cronin scooping both championships in a dramatic round at the 138.com Rally Isle of Man.

With CA1 Sport’s Fredrik Åhlin leading the way heading into the final double-round event, nothing but a perfect weekend would see Cronin crowned champion, but that’s exactly what he and his M-Sport team delivered.

Following a gruelling three days of competition, a double victory saw Cronin claim the laurels by a single point.

The opening speed test was staged on the island’s picturesque Marine Drive with Cronin and co-driver Mikie Galvin drawing first blood with the fastest time.

A further six stage wins followed to give Cronin seven out of a possible ten fastest stage times over the opening round.

It wasn’t to all be plain sailing for the Irish crew though having almost thrown it all away on stage seven – riding their Ford Fiesta R5 across a large hedge and grass bank before landing safely back on the Tarmac.

Returning to the famous TT Grandstand on Saturday evening, the teams were meticulously working out the points and the various scenarios which would determine whether the championship would go to CA1 Sport in Carlisle or M-Sport in Cockermouth.

Embarking on the final round, nothing but a victory would do for Cronin, but his potential success was also in the hands of his rival. If Cronin won and Åhlin finished second, the Swede would be champion.

But if Cronin won and Åhlin was third or lower, the Irishman would be crowned.

As the final action of the year got under way, the odds were in Åhlin’s favour. Cronin attacked from the off but couldn’t live with the initial pace of team mate Matt Edwards.

Starting the final stage, Cronin trailed Edwards by 9.4 seconds with Åhlin further behind in third place.

Then, one final twist, Edwards lucked out and Cronin went 9.5 seconds faster to claim the victory and the championship by a mere 0.1 seconds.

“It’s been a tough year,” lamented Cronin after the event. “And everything has been thrown at us.

“This was the toughest event I have ever done and the hardest title to win. Matt and Fredrik drove brilliantly and we didn’t think it was possible.

“But we have a great team behind us and we kept fighting and to win the championship by one tenth of a second is just unbelievable!”

Elsewhere on the racetrack, Alex MacDowall and team-mate Klaus Bachler made a welcome return to the sharp end of the ADAC GT Masters – securing seventh place in the series’ 11th round held at Germany’s Sachsenring.

MacDowall took the second stint during the opening one-hour race, taking to the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3R at mid-distance in 10th place.

Climbing to seventh, the Carlisle lad faced immense pressure during the closing laps but delivered an impressive drive to keep his rivals at bay.

In Sunday’s 12th round, the bigFM Racing Team Schutz Motorsport duo had a lot of work to do from the 10th row of the grid and had to settle for 15th with a late safety car.

“We took the most points of any of the Porsche drivers this weekend which is a positive,” reflected MacDowall. “But all of us were struggling with the Balance of Performance (BOP) compared to the Mercedes.

“I had an off in second practice which damaged the floor, so I didn’t get many laps at all, but I was pretty happy with my pace as the weekend went on.

“Race one was good. The car was performing reasonably well in race trim but qualifying was still about a second off, so that made the races hard work.

"I’m fairly happy with seventh though, and it was good to be able to defend all the guys behind and keep a cool head.

“We suffered with some understeer in the second race – tucked-up behind the slower Audi – and with Hockenheim only next weekend I didn’t want to take any risks and damage the car.

“I think we should be better there. It has some slow speed corners which suit our car more and the top end is quite good for the straights.

"We’ll still have the BOP issue, so our aim is to be the top Porsche again.”

On two wheels, last weekend’s action yielded less good fortune for Penrith’s Be Wiser Ducati Team who endured a tough day at Oulton Park – Shane "Shakey" Byrne scoring a best position of seventh and falling to third in the MCE British Superbike Championship.