After winning last year's Evolution Challenge on the island, Neil McCance delivered another top-class performance to finish second, whilst Daniel Barry managed to cling onto his championship lead after surviving a host of incidents throughout the event to claim third place and his 100% podium position finish record this season.

The Isle of Man's demanding tarmac roads lived up to their reputation of providing
competitors with one of the toughest tests of the season, when 12 Evolution Challenge crews met up with teams contesting the Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship, the Richard Egger Insurance MSA Asphalt Rally Championship and others just entering the 120-mile rally on an individual basis, to provide a total entry of 124 cars.

The first of the rally's five stages on Friday evening got underway with a run through the South West coast town of Port Erin, Nik Elsmore setting the fastest time just 0.3 seconds ahead of Cathcart, with Miles Johnston 0.2 seconds further back in third.
Albeit the highest Evo Challenge seed, McCance was the slowest Mitsubishi through the stage, having been caught out on cold tyres causing him to spin on the second corner. However, the Ulsterman redeemed himself on SS2, when he climbed back up to third place, behind Cronin and Cathcart - who were now the pace-setters. After a further three stages, competitors arrived at the Douglas TT grandstand for the overnight halt, where the time sheets showed Cathcart in charge with a healthy 25 second advantage over Cronin, who was a further 25 seconds ahead of McCance.

Outside the Evo Challenge top three, others reported their Friday night out in the Manx lanes was not as successful: Although in fourth, round one winner David Bogie was struggling to find the right set-up for his brand new "tarmac-spec" Evo, whilst just behind, championship leader Barry had suffered a broken rear shock absorber on SS2 and then rear differential problems on SS4. Elsmore's had also dropped back, his early advantage eradicated following a spin on SS3 and a puncture on SS5.

Manx debutants included Simon Harraway, who lost time with a spin during the evening and David Meredith, whose run of bad luck continued when a driveshaft broke as he left the line on SS4. For Daniel Sigurdarson, the event was proving to be a real education, as this was the first time the Icelandic rally champion had ever competed on tarmac, and if it was not for clipping a road-side rock on the first stage, it would have been a perfect start to his asphalt debut.

Saturday featured a further nine stages, the first loop of three providing drivers with challenge, the rapidly drying overnight rain causing unpredictable levels of grip. Worst affected was SS7, a point proved first by Bogie, who spun, clipped a bank and removed his car's rear spoiler. Next to fall foul of the slippery conditions was Barry, who demolished the rear of his car – luckily without sustaining any mechanical damage.Harraway was another who succumbed to the perils of stage seven, spoiling a chance of a good result when he got stuck in a ditch, lost nearly six minutes and then had to continue with bent suspension.However, for Sigurdarson his promising start suddenly turned into a dramatic finish on SS8, when his car stepped out of line on a fast and bumpy narrow section of road, impact with a tree sending his car into a series of spins and rolls between the solid Manx banks. With his Evo IX in ruins, both he and his co-driver Isak Gudjonsson were taken to the local hospital for a check-up, where thankfully both were discharged later that day with nothing worse than bruises and a suspected fracture in Sigurdarson's hand.

At the first service halt of the day, the scoreboard showed Catchcart now leading by 38 seconds, with Cronin 31 ahead of McCance. Plagued by a season of bad luck so far, David Meredith had no choice but to retire at this point, when his car's clutch stopped working due to a sheared hydraulic coupling.With roads drying out and teams now getting to grips with suspension settings, speeds for Saturday's second batch of three stages continued to rise. But the improved conditions didn't seem to help Bogie, who clipped a bank on stage 10, which flipped his car onto its roof and, although continuing, the consequent delay caused him to exceed his maximum lateness.

Johnston reported a lucky escape on SS11, when contact with a kerb caused a wheel to remove itself from the car and disappear over the side of a cliff, a swift change in the stage allowing him to make it back to the second service halt.

With just three stages left to go, Cathcart's lead in the Evolution Challenge looked unassailable, but when he unknowingly clipped something at the side of the road in SS13 and punctured the nearside front wheel, his chances of a dominant victory rapidly dropped away. Then, with further damage sustained to the front hub and surrounding components before the end of the stage, it was Cronin who arrived in Douglas ahead of the Evo Challenge field. After an agonising wait, it was revealed that Cathcart's 11th hour problems had caused him to exceed his maximum lateness and was therefore un-classified in the results, a bitter blow to what was an outstanding display of driving.His retirement elevated McCance to second, whilst Barry not only had to overcome his SS7 dramas, but also managed to climb back up to third – even after having to replace the bolts in his car's propshaft between the stages – the fight to the finish enabling him to retain his championship lead.His strategy for keeping out of trouble saw a solid drive from Jonny Greer reward him with fourth place and his first haul of Evo Challenge points this season. Having adopted a similar stance, Elsmore finished fifth and was pleased to complete the event unscathed, following his well-publicised accident in 2007.

For Jonathan Sparks there was a final sting in the tail, when a certain points finish was denied after transmission troubles brought his rally to a standstill on the very last stage.
At the finish a delighted Keith Cronin said: "It's great to take my first Evolution Challenge win. This weekend was a case of learning the car on tarmac and building up the speed as the rally went on. We just kept plugging away and had almost accepted we were going to finish second, but in rallying, it's not over until it's over and, although I feel for Richard (Cathcart), this result has really made a difference to our championship hopes."

Evo Challenge competitors now have just three weeks to prepare for round four, the Severn Valley National Rally on 31st May, when the championship switches back to a gravel surface and the forests of mid-Wales - and, with a different winner on each of the three rounds so far, the title chase is still wide open.

The 2008 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge is backed by Mitsubishi Motors UK and Ralliart, with support from its associate sponsors: Pirelli tyres, Speedline Corse wheels, Sparco racewear, Performance Friction Brakes, Sunoco Race Fuels, ADR Motorsport, Walkinshaw Performance and PIAA lights, who sponsor the junior award for under 25 year old drivers.