Motorsport News

KING COLE BEATS HIS NAMESAKE AFTER A FURIOUS BATTLE ON CHALLENGER EVENT AT BOVINGTON

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Damian Cole took his Skoda Fabia R5+ to a determined win at the Challenger Stages. He battled hard with the acknowledg­ed local experts and set five fastest times to beat Brad Cole (Ford Escort Mk2) by 24 seconds.

Despite a slippery surface early on, drier conditions from mid-morning made for consistent high speeds. Damian Cole locked horns with Darrell Taylor on the opening stages, the two drivers swapping fastest times until Taylor retired his Fiesta Rally2 after an under-bonnet fire on SS4.

With one rival gone, the leader then had to fend off pressure from Brad Cole. The Escort driver set a phenomenal pace despite minimal traction on SS1 and having no intercom for two stages. He set fastest stage time on SS8 to cement the runners up spot.

Third-placed Sean Quigley set consistent top-three times as he climbed from sixth spot early on. His Ford Fiesta R5 ran faultlessl­y as he held off a strong challenge from fourth-placed Ed Fossey. Having his first outing in his Proton Satria-Millington and, with minimal seat time pre-event, Fossey had a mid-rally battle with eventual fifth-placed Simon Mansell (Ford Escort G3) and Dan Gibson (Darrian T90). Gibson’s fightback after early-day traction problems came to naught as he retired on SS8 with a cracked gearbox housing.

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