Damian Cole has moved to within one victory of the all-time rally winning record on Epynt.

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

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