Round 9, Cheviot Stages.
The final round of the 2013 championship, going into it at the head of the points table BUT with three other drivers still able to take the crown the pressure was on Damian to win a 4th straight driver’s championship.
After a brief shakedown on the main road on Saturday evening just to make sure the new seat was in the correct position, only a minor adjustment was needed and the team was ready for battle to commence at 8.30am on Sunday morning.
“Bleak” would be a good word to describe the military ranges on Sunday morning, damp roads shrouded in mist were going to offer a stern challenge for all concerned. With co-driver Elliott Edmondson returning to the left hand seat after the last successful outing in Wexford, the Focus WRC set fastest times on the first five stages, catching car one through the fog on ss2 even with a one minute gap on the start line, after which they had built up over a minute's advantage. With the other championship contenders falling by the wayside, Stephen Simpson and John Indri both retiring with mechanical failures and Paul Bird being off the pace all day and sliding into a ditch on the last stage incurring a stage maximum, they completed the remaining eight stages and took the victory they deserved by 2 minutes 20 seconds.
Despite an unwarranted judicial enquiry instigated by Paul Bird and Aled Davies protesting at the finish, they were eventually declared the rightful winners even with a 2 minute time penalty and Damian took his well deserved place in the Championship history books as the only driver to win four consecutive titles.
Can Damian make it 5 in 2014…?
