Far from losing heart after failing to finish the first round of the REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship, Damian Cole and co-driver Craig Drew have rebounded in the best possible way - by taking their Kumho-shod Ford Focus WRC to four consecutive hauls of maximum points. As a result, they currently lead the series by 16 points from the Ford Escort MKII of Simon Mauger and Ashley Trimble.

The Cole/Drew pairing was lying fifth overall on the Tour of Epynt back in March when power steering pump failure ended their rally prematurely. The fight back began at the very next round, however, with third place overall and maximum championship points from the Manx Telecom Rally in May. Later the same month came the Jim Clark National Rally, and potential disaster for the hard-charging team when their Focus quickly displayed gearchange problems and eventually stuck in sixth before the end of the first stage. Happily the problem was then solved and they went on to win the event outright - the best result of their careers at that time.

They clearly relished the experience, as they repeated the feat three weeks later on the Trinity Hyundai Rally of the Midlands. Despite time lost due to an incorrect tyre choice for the first leg of the Hinckley-based event, they recovered to take overall victory by almost a minute.

So to the most recent round - the Dublin-based ALMC Stages rally of July 18. With the combination of throttle problems and an overheating engine, Cole and Drew ran second for much of the day. However, the leaders struck trouble on the penultimate stage, opening the door to another outright win and maximum championship points for the Hertfordshire crew. With the scoring system counting the best five results from nine events, there is much to play for between now and the season closing Cheviot National Rally in October. However, Cole and Drew have made it very clear that their Kumho-shod Focus WRC is the car to beat.

Said Kumho's European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, "Damian is clearly at one with the Focus and determined to win the championship outright. We have been extremely impressed with his driving so far and wish him the very best of fortune with the remaining rounds, the next one of which is the Tyneside Stages Rally this coming Sunday (August 1)."

Driving his Kumho-shod ART-prepared Dallara-Mercedes at Zandvoort on June 6, Valtteri Bottas became the first person ever to successfully defend the Masters of Formula 3 title - the most important race of the European F3 season, supported by Kumho Tyres since 2002.

Pre-race rain caused the final to start under the pace car. Tyre choice was clearly going to be crucial and Spaniard Roberto Merhi took an early lead, having been the fastest qualifier to opt for Kumho wets. It proved to be the wrong call, however, and as the rain ceased and the track dried out, he was quickly passed by pole sitter Alexander Sims and then Bottas, who were among those running slicks. Bottas assumed the lead from his team-mate soon afterwards - the position he was to hold to the end. The final order for the podium was Bottas, Sims and Marco Wittmann.

Said Bottas, "It was a tough race, but now I am really happy. Winning the masters for the second time was my goal for this weekend. Slicks turned out to be the right choice. It was close once or twice while lapping the other drivers, but that's part of the game."

The Kumho fastest lap award was won by Jean-Eric Vergne who finished in fourth place and was one of six top 10 finishers to come from the British F3 Series. YN Byun, President of Kumho Tire Europe, presented the trophies for fastest lap and third place.

The event was attended by 43,000 people - the largest Masters crowd for several years. They were not only treated to excellent F3 racing but some hot demo laps by Red Bull F1 ace Sebastian Vettel (a planned crack at the outright circuit record proved impossible due to the conditions), who also visited the starting grid and presented the winner's trophy. There was also a thrilling flying display around Zandvoort's start/finish straight by former Red Bull air race pilot Frank Versteegh.

Said Kumho's European Motorsport Manager, Steve Thompson, "To ensure all competitors started with equal opportunity, we provided a unique batch of tyres for the meeting. The specification was completely different to that- used in the F3 Euro Series and included wider 200/550R13 front covers."

Kumho's position as the official Masters of F3 tyre supplier will continue until at least 2011. All cars must compete on Kumho ECSTA racing tyres 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.

Damian Cole and Craig Drew took their Kumho-shod Ford Focus WRC to a well-deserved 13.3 second victory in the Jim Clark National Rally of May 28/29.

Matters could have been very different though, as the pair were lying in last place at the end of the first stage due to gear selection problems. Unable to change down with the Focus' wheel-mounted paddleshift, Cole was initially forced to negotiate even the tightest of chicanes in sixth gear. Happily, a close inspection of the system revealed that he could make the changes with the car's sequential lever instead. However, that meant using the clutch, which in turn required him to brake with his right foot - something he had never before done with the Focus. Said Cole, "I basically had to work out a whole new way of driving."

He managed it though, and by the end of the first leg he had worked his way up to 12th place - be it 55.9 seconds behind the then leaders, Andy Fenwick and Lee Tindall in a Subaru Impreza WRC. By the following morning, Cole's gearchange appeared to be fully operational and he took a full 4.2 seconds out of Fenwick on the first stage. Despite the gremlins then returning, Cole managed to maintain his relentless climb back up the field, taking the lead soon after the Subaru crew retired with brake problems. Commenting on the finale, Cole said, "It was very slippery on the last two stages. I just had to push as hard as I could."

Said Kumho's European Motorsport Manager Steve Thompson, "We were impressed with the way Damian worked around his rally-long gear problems to secure this excellent victory, which furthers our impressive record on this great event - last year Kumho-shod cars won both the National and International categories."

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."