27 August 2002: In the most thrilling event of Sunday's Mondello Park race meeting, Rod McGovern (Sandyford), came through victorious after 18 gruelling laps in the ninth round of the Dunlop RT2000 Championship.

McGovern in the Mazda-sponsored car was on top form as he led the charge in morning qualifying to head the time sheets with a 1m .13s, just a fraction of a second ahead of Jonathan Fildes (Clonee), who was crowned champion for the second year running after the eighth round at Mondello Park on August 11.

Walkinstown's Robbie Bolger was on the second row of the grid from Noel Dunne (Naas), with Pat Donegan (Kells) and Johnny Whelan (Naas) behind them, thus setting the scene for a fantastic penultimate round of the series.

McGovern got the best start when the lights turned green as Fildes and Bolger battled for second on the first lap. Whelan and Donegan argued over fourth with Eric Holstein (Kilcock) hanging on in sixth until Dunne and David Kidd (Blessington) got through a lap later.

Fildes and Bolger were all over McGovern, the trio circulating in a train with no more than a coat of paint between them. This continued unabated until the seventh lap, when Fildes drifted slightly wide coming out of Dunlop corner allowing Bolger into second, but Jonathan wasn't giving up and by the 10th lap had forged his way back into second as Whelan joined the leaders to make it a nail-biting four-way dice.

There was no breathing space for McGovern as he kept his cool under immense pressure, while behind him second place went back to Bolger with Whelan also nipping by Fildes. Further back, Holstein was on his own from Kidd, Bob Copeland (Dunboyne), David Collier (Clonee) - winner of the previous round - and Leixlip's David O'Brien.

With four laps to go, it was all too close for comfort and no one was prepared to give an inch, and as Bolger and Whelan blasted down the home straight, they touched sending Bolger hard into the pit wall in a somewhat controversial incident. With Robbie taken to hospital for a check-up, the race at the front continued with McGovern now leading Fildes and Whelan to the flag. It was a superb race to the finish with Holstein taking fourth from Copeland, Collier, O'Brien and John Keaney (Leixlip).

With Fildes already crowned champion, the final round of the high-speed saloon car series takes place at Mondello Park on September 15, when the battle for second place in the championship between Whelan, McGovern and Collier will be the focus of attention.