By guiding his Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia WRC to a finely judged second place on the recent (October 3/4) Cork 20 International Rally, Irish rally ace Eugene Donnelly has clinched his fifth Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. His five titles match the record set by the legendary Austin MacHale, while his tally of 19 individual rally victories is just one less than the late Bertie Fisher's all time total. Last but not least, Donnelly's victory in this year's series marks the first major international championship success for the Skoda Fabia WRC.

Donnelly entered the event - the last in the 2009 series - with a solid 18-point lead. The championship was therefore his to lose and he admits to making a nervous start. However he remarked, "I must say I enjoyed the first day that comprised three stages run three times. We got the choice of Kumhos right and the car was working very well. The format reminded me of the old Irish national rallies, and by bedtime on Saturday we were a lot more settled. The last three stages of the rally were torture though. I was never so paranoid about what could go wrong, but in the end everything held together - I could hardly believe it."

Ironically the Cork event was won by the Ford Focus WRC of Gareth MacHale (one of the two rallying sons of Austin MacHale), which finished just over a minute ahead of the Donnelly Skoda.

Said Kumho's European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, "We were delighted when Eugene rejoined the Kumho fold this year and even more so when he started winning straight out of the box. He and faithful co-driver Paddy Toner thoroughly deserve their success, which we are proud to have contributed to. With memorable results in rallying, rallycross and Formula 3, 2009 has been our most successful European motorsport season to date."

Seasoned campaigner Pat Doran is the 2009 Kumho Tyres MSA British Rallycross champion, having placed the title beyond the reach of his rivals before the final round at Mallory Park on October 18.

Doran was imperious at last month's (September) meeting at Pembrey, winning rounds six and seven in style, despite the best efforts of his nearest title rival Steve Hill, who finished second in the first event and third in the next one.

A Waste Recycling Consultant from Thorverton, Devon, Doran switched from rallying to rallycross in the early '90s with immediate success, but retired to develop his business after finishing fourth in the '93 European championship. However, he returned with a bang in 2001, finishing runner-up in the British championship at the wheel of a Ford RS200. He then won the series outright in 2002, was runner-up in 2003 and victorious once more in 2005 and now 2009.

These days he drives a Ford Fiesta Supercar powered by a 540bhp 2.0-litre Cosworth YB engine. The car was built, developed and is maintained by Autopoint Engineering of East Sussex - as is the similar machine of his son Liam, who finished fifth in the series.

Said Kumho's Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, "Our warmest congratulations to Pat, who has enjoyed another splendid season en route to clinching his third British championship. We were also once again delighted with the performance of the Kumho control tyre which is used by all competitors in the series."

Erik Wevers and Jalmar van Weeren fought their Kumho-shod Ford Focus WRC to a famous victory in last weekend's (September 19/20) Hellendoorn Rally - by far the biggest such event in Holland, which attracts in excess of 80,000 spectators. Two other Kumho equipped runners finished in the top 10.

Wevers is en route to making the event his own, being one of only two drivers to win it four times and one of only three to achieve back to back victories - so far he has topped the rostrum in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009. This year's success was no walk in the tulip fields, however, and from the outset battle raged between Wevers, 2007 Dutch champion Mark van Eldik and the 2004 Hellendoorn victor Pieter Tsjoen.

Wevers' position started to look vulnerable during the second leg, when he lost some 30 seconds due to a hydraulic problem with the clutch. However, with the leaking hose sorted, Tsjoen forced to retire and van Eldik suffering mechanical maladies, the Wevers/van Weeren team eventually ran out victors by just under 2 minutes, clinching the Euro Rally Challenge in the process.

With the Skoda Fabia WRC of Gert Huzink/Aaldert Aaltink finishing 5th and the Subaru Impreza WRC of John Temmink/Henk-Jan Elbert coming home 9th, the result was another very impressive showing for Kumho-supported cars.

Said Kumho's European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, "Our 2009 rally results have been most encouraging and this ranks among the best so far; the positive publicity from which should not be underestimated. Indeed, Kumho's related exposure actually began before the event, when Wevers and Huzink participated in a rally display in central Rotterdam. This attracted huge crowds, was aired lived on Dutch TV and featured the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, enjoying a ride in Wevers' Kumho-equipped Ford Focus WRC."

Eugene Donnelly had much to celebrate after taking his Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia WRC to a dramatic final stage win on last weekend’s (August 21/22) Ulster Rally – it was the Irishman’s third victory on this particular rally, his fourth of the 2009 season and a result that sees him well on the way to clinching his fifth Irish Tarmac Championship.

Donnelly and co-driver Paddy Toner started the rally’s 14th and final stage ½ a second behind rivals Gareth MacHale and Brian Murphy in their Ford Focus WRC. MacHale was all too aware that this was Donnelly’s home turf – where he grew up, where he cycled as a kid – so pushed the Focus to the limit. In doing so he overshot a crossroads, stalling the engine in the process and losing vital seconds that were eventually to cost him the rally by a mere quarter of a minute! Third place went to the Subaru WRC of Derek McGarrity and James McKee.

Donnelly was understandably overjoyed with the result. He said, “We gave it everything at the end and it was obviously brilliant to win on my home stage.”

The final round of the championship is the Cork 20 Rally on October 3/4, an event the Donnelly/Toner pairing will start with an 18 point lead, so there will be a few chewed fingernails between now and then! Said Kumho’s European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, “It’s been great to have Eugene back in the Kumho camp this season and he has driven brilliantly from the first stage of the first event. We’ll do everything we can to ensure he is victorious in Cork and secures that record fifth championship – he certainly deserves it.”

Victory on last weekend's Quinton Stages Rally - round 6 of the prestigious BTRDA Gold Star Rally Championship - went to the Kumho‑shod Subaru Impreza WRC of Will Nicholls and Nick Broom.

Eager to score points after their recent engine failure, the team was quick out of the box and more than matching the stage times of reigning champion Hugh Hunter. As ever on these events, tyre choice was going to be crucial. For the third test Nicholls decided to run a harder compound Kumho R800 gravel rally tyre on the front compared with the rear of the Subaru, in an attempt to improve turn in on the corners. The gamble paid off as he was two seconds clear of the next fastest car; the Mitsubishi EVO 9 of David Wright/Michael Wilkinson that was also running on Kumho rubber. A series of spins had dropped Hunter down to third place - 14 seconds off the lead.

The Nicholls/Broom partnership was never headed during the event, enjoying a trouble‑free run apart from a misfire due to spark plug failure on Stage 7. Nicholls reflected: "At times it was like towing a trailer with a 30‑year old Transit!"

In the final tally, Kumho runners filled no less than three out of the top four places, with the Wright/Wilkinson Mitsubishi coming home third overall and first in the Group N category, and the Hyundai Accent WRC of Damian Cole/Patrick Walsh annexing fourth spot.

Said Kumho's European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson: "We are truly delighted at our rally results so far this year. Not only are our drivers achieving wins at all levels, but we have strength in depth to a degree we've never previously experienced."

As always, Kumho supplied all the tyres for the meeting - 1,000 in total.

Last weekend (June 13/14), the Finn Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix) won the 19th Masters of Formula 3 race - the most important of the Euro F3 season and supported since 2002 by Kumho Tyres. After two years at Zolder, Belgium, the blue riband event had returned to its spiritual home of Zandvoort, Netherlands, where the first such meeting was run in 1991. The winner then was David Coulthard, who went on to score more points in F1 than any other British driver to date.

This year, such talents as Bottas, Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) and Mika Mäki (Signature) were expected to be the main contenders for laurels - Bianchi being the first Masters' winner ever to defend his title. In fact he qualified quickest of all 36 Kumho‑shod runners. However, the stewards judged him to have obstructed four other competitors and he was dropped to sixth on the grid. His teammate Bottas therefore started from pole with a real chance of winning his first F3 race.

The Finn headed the race from the start and rapidly distanced himself from the rest of the field, eventually winning in commanding style. "It was not as easy as it maybe seemed from the outside," he explained. "I planned to lead from the start and to push for the first three laps." Thanks to the perfectly warmed up Kumho Tyres and the good set‑up of his Dallara‑Mercedes he had enough grip from the outset to put his plan into action.

The winners L to R: Maki, Bottas and Coletti Bottas is the first Finn ever to win the Masters. "Victory in this race is a major success, especially when you are the first driver of your country to achieve it," concluded Bottas. Fellow countryman Mika Mäki's second place ensured that Finland also won the Nations Cup. The podium was completed by Stefano Coletti (Prema Powerteam). Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) and Alexander Sims (Mücke Motorsport) were fourth and fifth respectively, while home‑grown driver Renger van der Zande (Hitech Racing) was sixth.

To ensure all competitors started with equal opportunity, Kumho provided a unique batch of tyres for the meeting of a completely different specification to those used in the F3 Euro Series.

Kumho's position as the official Masters of F3 tyre supplier will continue until at least 2011. All cars must compete on ECSTA brand racing tyres in sizes 180/550R13 (front) and 240/570R13 (rear). Depending on the weather, either S700 (dry) slicks or W700 (wet) grooved tyres are fitted - a requirement of over 1,000 tyres all told. Kumho is also the official tyre supplier to the F3 Euro Series, widely acknowledged as the best and most challenging Formula 3 series in the world.

Skoda driver scores third International win of 2009 on Jim Clark Rally

International category

Four times Irish Tarmac Champion Eugene Donnelly notched up his third international victory of the season last weekend (May 22-24) by winning Scotland's ever-popular Jim Clark Memorial Rally.

After an epic battle, the Kumho-shod Skoda Fabia WRC of Donnelly and co-driver Paddy Toner finished just 23 seconds ahead of the Subaru Impreza of fellow Irishmen Tim McNulty and David Moynihan. Donnelly now leads the Irish Tarmac Championship from McNulty by 12 points and his many fans inevitably believe a fifth title is now on the cards.

National category A

The event also marked the fourth round of the Richard Egger Insurance MSA Asphalt Rally Championship. Kumho-shod cars were again dominant, filling the first two places. First home were Melvyn Evans and Sean Mullally in a Subaru Impreza WRC, while 1min 45secs behind were David Mann and Alun Cook in their similar car.

Commenting on another great weekend of rallying for Kumho's European Motorsport Division, its Manager Steve Thompson said: "The Jim Clark Rally is always special – who wouldn't be stirred by cars legally hitting 130mph through the centre of Duns?! – but not for the first time this season we were delighted to have such strength in depth on so major an event."

The Kumho SOLUS KH17 has been awarded 'Best Buy' status in the latest 32‑strong tyre test performed by Which? magazine. Moreover, of the 18 185/60 R14 H products reviewed for the supermini category, it was the only one to be considered as 'Exceptional Value'.

The KH17, which is being progressively rolled out to the UK market throughout 2009, was not the only Kumho product to be lauded in the review either, as the ECSTA HM KH31 fared well in the 14‑strong 205/55 R16 W medium‑sized car tyre category, achieving the best result of all in the wet braking test. Its stopping distance bettered that of the group's poorest performer by no less than 7.71 metres - ie the length of two small cars.

Said the managing director of Kumho's Birmingham‑based Europe Technical Centre, Roger Jenkins, "This year has started very positively for us and, even prior to the Which? report, we had received accolades from three of Germany's most respected motoring publications - ADAC motorwelt, Autozeitung and Off Road, as well as Russia's Za Rulem. We have also notched up some impressive results in national and international rally events, proving that our tyres are equally effective on the road as in the heat of competition."

For full results of all the latest Which? tyre tests and up‑to‑the‑minute choosing and using advice visit www.which.co.uk/tyres

Kumho Tires' position as the official tyre supplier to the Formula 3 Euro Series has been extended to 2011. The renewed contract was signed on February 18 at a meeting between the head of the series' organising committee, Walter Mertes, and H.S.Lee, President of Kumho Tire Europe GmbH, at Kumho's European headquarters in Offenbach, Germany.

The F3 Euro Series was founded in 2003 by the organisers of the French and German championships. A full grid of 32 cars (the most ever) will contest the 20-race 2009 series, with rounds in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands – the competition will run from May until October.

The series is renowned for producing world-class drivers that frequently progress to F1. The star-studded list includes the 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg and now Sébastien Buemi, the 20-year old Swiss who is to drive for the Toro Rosso team this year.

As official tyre supplier, Kumho will provide 10,000 tyres per annum for use in the series, thereby greatly helping to strengthen awareness for the brand in the European marketplace.

Said H.S Lee, "Complementing our Manchester United and other European football sponsorship agreements, our motorsport involvement gives us a worldwide opportunity to demonstrate our technological prowess and quality. Extending our F3 Euro Series contact will allow 600 million households in 53 countries to witness the evolution of the Kumho brand and equate it with the presence of our excellent UHP road tyres."

Kumho is also the official supplier to the annual blue riband Masters of F3 event at Zolder and the Australian F3 Championship. All told, it dominates global supply of tyres for F3 racing with an estimated 30 per cent share of the market.

For further information on the F3 Euro Series, log onto www.f3euroseries.com.

Galway International Rally (Jan 16-18)

The Galway rally was a highly memorable one for Kumho as the outright winner and four of the first seven cars were shod with the company's competition tyres.

Outright victory went on this, the first round of the 2009 Irish Tarmac Championship, to Eugene Donnelly and Paddy Toner in a Skoda Fabia WRC. Four times Irish Tarmac Champion Donnelly was back on Kumho tyres for the first time since 2007 and was quick to praise their part in his victory. "The conditions on both days were atrocious. There was standing water, rain and hailstones pounding the windscreen, plus the occasional patch of ice, but our Kumho Tyres worked extremely well throughout."

Fifth overall and first in Group N were Anthony O'Halloran and Charlie McEnery in a Mitsubishi Evo 9; sixth overall and second in Group N were Sean Flanagan and Brian Duggan in a Subaru Impreza; seventh overall, and the first two-wheel drive car home, were Tommy Doyle and Tony McDaid in a Renault Clio RS – all were running Kumho tyres.

Jack Frost Stages Rally (Jan 18)

Penrith driver Paul Bird saw off some strong opposition to win the Cartersport Jack Frost Stages Rally at Croft in North Yorks – his first victory on this event. Bird and his co-driver Ian Windress were campaigning a Kumho-shod Subaru Impreza WRC S9. A man of many talents, Bird is a poultry farmer by trade and also the owner of the Kawasaki World Superbike Team. He joked, "Now I've won an event I'm hoping my superbike riders can do likewise in the World Championship!"

Said the manager of Kumho's European Motorsport Division, Steve Thompson, "This was a great way to begin the season and we clearly hope the year continues in the same way. We are particularly delighted to have Eugene Donnelly back in the fold – a man who achieved many successes on Kumho tyres in the past and looks like doing so in the future too."