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New Kumho rally tyres assist Kobus to impressive top 10 finish in Barum Rally

Considering the Dutch pairing of Hermen Kobus and Erik de Wild were experiencing the first major event in their new Skoda Fabia R5, a result of 8th overall in the Barum Czech Rally Zlín (August 29/30) was a mighty impressive result. But for a harmless spin on the second day it would in fact have been 7th, as the Skoda was a bare six seconds behind the Peugeot 208 T16 of Craig Breen at the finish!

It was also a great result for Kumho's new TM02 tarmac rally tyres, about which Hermen was suitably enthusiastic. Thanks to Skoda Motorsport he had been able to pre-test both the car and the tyres on Czech soil: "This gave us the opportunity to try out the new Kumhos and adapt the setup of the car to suit. I was very happy with them on the event - even though the tarmac temperatures rose as high as 55 degrees, they held up perfectly."

He thoroughly enjoyed the rally too: "This is by far the hardest and most impressive rally I have ever driven. The stages had everything - jumps, blind tightening corners, bumpy and worn asphalt, and some very fast sections. You not only need a quick car to win there, but a lot of guts too!"

Commented Kumho Motorsport's Steve Thompson: "We were very happy with the performance of our new tarmac tyres and felt Hermen did a great job too. We look forward to seeing what he can achieve with further experience of the Fabia R5 - there could be some surprises ahead."

For further information on Kumho tyres for rallying, racing and the road, see www.kumhotyre.co.uk.