Cole Enjoys Successful Tour Of Epynt Shakedown

By Paul Evans

Damian Cole gave his Get Connected/Energizer-backed Ford Focus WRC05 a successful shakedown run at the weekend, finishing second overall on the Bovington Stages.

That result sets the Abergavenny rally star up nicely for this Sunday’s Rallynuts National Tour of Epynt Rally, where he’ll launch his assault on a seventh Protyre Motorsport UK Asphalt Rally Championship drivers’ title.

Cole is returning to his Focus WRC05 this year, after several seasons rallying mainly his Fiesta WRC and Escort Mk2.

His first rally of 2019, a two-day event held at Bovington Camp, a British Army military base in Dorset, went well. Co-driven for the first time by Shelley Rogerson (who was contesting her first rally since 2009), Cole held second place after a dry opening Saturday, just seven seconds behind Andy Vey/Richard Fletcher (Mitsubishi Evo). Conditions were wet and slippy on Sunday, and he was holding station whilst taking no risks, with his only minor drama coming when the launch control failed at the start of SS10.

Cole went on to set fastest time on the final two stages to eventually finish second overall, 34 seconds behind Vey and 1 minute 19 seconds ahead of third placed Geoff Bennett/John Billett (Ford Warrior Escort).

Having won an incredible 20 rallies on Epynt, Cole will be one of the favourites for victory this coming Sunday, as over 70 of Britain’s best asphalt rally drivers head to the fast, narrow and rollercoaster asphalt roads above Sennybridge.

“The Bovington Stages was a good pre-season test with the Focus WRC – we didn’t want to do anything silly, particularly when it was wet and slippy on Sunday, so we were very pleased with the way it all went,” said Cole.

“It was also a good run for Shelley, as it was her first rally since 2009. It’s certainly given her a lot more confidence going into this weekend, which will be only her second event on Epynt.

“We were competitive last weekend, even though we were using the Irish Tarmac set-up that we’ll use on Epynt; a lower and stiffer set-up would have been better for Bovington, but that wasn’t the reason for going there. We were still able to battle for the lead, but lost time when the launch control failed at the start of stage ten, stalled the engine and had to restart the system. We set fastest time on the final two stages to finish second, which we were very pleased with.

“Last weekend was the first rally that I’ve finished in the Focus WRC since 2015. I haven’t used it much since then of course, and the car has a very good record – never finishing lower than fourth on asphalt when we have finished and I’ve won five of my six Asphalt Rally Championship titles in it. We’ll change the clutch before this weekend’s event, and then we’ll be all set and ready for the Tour of Epynt on Sunday.”