Cole Crowned King Of Epynt For Eighth Time

By Paul Evans

Damian Cole has clinched his eighth King of Epynt title after winning the Stephens & George Print Group Harry Flatters Rally in his Get Connected/Energizer-backed Ford Fiesta WRC.

It’s also the eighth time that the Abergavenny driver has won the event, and an astonishing six times in a row.

Victory gives Cole a total of 22 rally wins on Epynt, just one win behind John Price, who holds the record of 23 wins over the famous Mid-Wales military range.

Cole was once again on superb form, and despite some high-quality opposition he and co-driver Paul Spooner set the fastest time on nine of the rally’s 11 asphalt stages to win the Brecon Motor Club-organised event by 13 seconds.

Bob Fowden/Aled Davies were delighted to finish second – their Comline Auto Parts/NGK-backed Subaru Impreza WRC S11 back on song, more than a year after an under bonnet fire badly damaged the ex-Petter Solberg car.

In a close battle for the final podium position, Mark Straker/Ian Meakin finished third in their Darrian T90 GT ‘R5’, beating Tony Rees/Ian Taylor (Darrian GTR+) by just 10 seconds to also be the top placed two-wheel drive car home.

After long run of bad luck, Huw Reed/Anthony Hackett were delighted to finish seventh, their Darrian T90 GTR running faultlessly all day.

Richard Merriman and co-driver Kath Curzon have extended their lead in the 2019 JD Tyres Welsh Tarmacadam Rally Championship after finishing first in class and eighth overall in their The Roof Hub/Touchline-backed Darrian T90.

Will Mains/Claire Williams (Vauxhall Nova) once again dominated their class and beat Geno Cook/Tudor Jenkins (Nissan Micra) by 3mins 40 secs. Andrew Turner/Richard Winstanley (Honda Civic) and Leighton Smith/Ryan Jones (Peugeot 205 GTi) were also class winners.

Several crews didn’t reach the finish, including Gareth Richards/Deian Rees who parked their Darrian T90 with low oil pressure, Andy Fraser/Alan Jones who hit a rock in their Darrian T90, Phil Turner/Simon Anthony suffered turbo failure in their Mitsubishi Evo 9 and Roger Moran/Den Golding had engine problems with their Darrian GTR+.

Daniel Jones/Kevin Lewis won the National A historic event in their Ford Escort Mk2, beating the similar car of Nick Elliott/Dave Price by 40 seconds.

Harry Flatters Rally – top 10 finishers
1. Damian Cole/Paul Spooner (Ford Fiesta WRC)….51mins 40secs
2. Bob Fowden/Aled Davies (Subaru Impreza WRC)….51mins 53secs
3. Mark Straker/Ian Meakin (Darrian T90 GT ‘R5’)….53mins 33secs
4. Tony Rees/Ian Taylor (Darrian GTR+)….53mins 43secs
5. John Indri/Mathew Smalley (Mitsubishi Mirage)….53mins 54secs
6. Craig Jones/Shaun Layland (Mitsubishi Evo 9)….54mins 34secs
7. Huw Reed/Anthony Hackett (Darrian T90 GTR)….54mins 50secs
8. Richard Merriman/Kath Curzon (Darrian T90)….55mins 27secs
9. Mark Kelly/Neil Colman (Ford Escort MK2)….55mins 34secs
10. Marcus Pagett/Rhys Stoneman (Nissan Micar Kit Car)….55mins 54secs