Far from losing heart after failing to finish the first round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, Damian Cole and co-driver Craig Drew have rebounded in the best possible way – by taking their Kumho-shod Ford Focus WRC to four consecutive hauls of maximum points. As a result, they currently lead the series by 16 points from the Ford Escort MKII of Simon Mauger and Ashley Trimble.

The Cole/Drew pairing was lying fifth overall on the Tour of Epynt back in March when power steering pump failure ended their rally prematurely. The fight back began at the very next round, however, with third place overall and maximum championship points from the Manx Telecom Rally in May. Later the same month came the Jim Clark National Rally, and potential disaster for the hard-charging team when their Focus quickly displayed gearchange problems and eventually stuck in sixth before the end of the first stage. Happily the problem was then solved and they went on to win the event outright – the best result of their careers at that time.

They clearly relished the experience, as they repeated the feat three weeks later on the Trinity Hyundai Rally of the Midlands. Despite time lost due to an incorrect tyre choice for the first leg of the Hinckley-based event, they recovered to take overall victory by almost a minute.

So to the most recent round – the Dublin-based ALMC Stages rally of July 18. With the combination of throttle problems and an overheating engine, Cole and Drew ran second for much of the day. However, the leaders struck trouble on the penultimate stage, opening the door to another outright win and maximum championship points for the Hertfordshire crew. With the scoring system counting the best five results from nine events, there is much to play for between now and the season closing Cheviot National Rally in October. However, Cole and Drew have made it very clear that their Kumho-shod Focus WRC is the car to beat.

Said Kumho’s European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, “Damian is clearly at one with the Focus and determined to win the championship outright. We have been extremely impressed with his driving so far and wish him the very best of fortune with the remaining rounds, the next one of which is the Tyneside Stages Rally this coming Sunday (August 1).”