Oak Tyres logo
Davanti Tyres

Cobley’s off to a flyer with class win in British Cross Country Championships

16th June 2021

Edd Cobley took the class win in his season debut in the opening round of the British Cross Country Championships.

His drive in Skippy 2.0 – his custom-built Landrover 110 – marked an historic first competitive victory in Class 3 (modified production) for Davanti Tyres’ Terratoura A/T at Parkwood Off Road Centre in Tong, West Yorkshire.

Racing with John Tomley as his co-driver, Cobley went all-out on the challenging course.

“It was fantastic to be out there again tearing it up,” he said. “We knew Skippy was fast but she was really rapid and she flew over the jumps. The racing was brutal but that’s how we like it.

“We’ve built and prepped her ourselves and this was her first proper race so to see her not just hold up well but put in serious times was amazing. We were competitive against vehicles you’d expect to leave a Defender for dust.

“After that performance I am confident we can get more out of Skippy and start to really push the overall championship leaders.”

Racing at speed over dust tracks, gravel, mud and jumps, it was a tough introduction to off-road racing for Terratoura A/T.

“When you’re travelling at those speeds on tough terrain you have to trust your tyres,” said Edd. “If they aren’t up to the job you’ll quickly be in all sorts of trouble. Thankfully we put Terratoura A/T through the harshest tests before the race and it paid off as we never had to worry about them.

“The fact they’ve now been successfully battle-tested however is a major bonus – racing is always much different to testing.”

As the race wore on issues with the rear axle bushes, rear damper mounts bending and minor electrical faults tested Cobley and Tomley, but they were still able to claim the class win.

“Now we’ve got the first race under our belts and we know we have the pace and reliability we need to focus on squeezing every last bit of performance out of Skippy for the remaining three weekends.

“There’s a couple of minor adjustments we want to make that will help us carry some extra speed but we’ve got a few weeks to get that sorted.”

The next round of the championships is at Sweet Lamb in Mid Wales on July 17 and 18.

Before then Edd will join Davanti Tyres at the Billing Off Road Show on June 26 and 27 where he will be showing what Skippy can do on the off-road course.

Photo courtesy of Songasport.co.uk

View all Print

Related news

Discover the latest industry updates, company announcements and valuable tyre tips in our news section.

Davanti Tyres

Jamie Ringer secures hat trick of wins at Mini Challenge Clubsport season finale

The final racing weekend of the Mini Challenge Clubsport 2025 season was a battle between Jamie Ringer, Oli Willmott, Andy Langley and Freddie Hewitt, but it was Ringer who came...

Davanti Tyres

Braking on wet roads

Autumn brings the arrival of the wettest months of the year. Combined with colder temperatures, driving conditions become more hazardous and stopping distances when braking on wet roads can increase....

Davanti Tyres

Davanti Winter and All-Season Tyres: Which tyre is best for you?

Choosing the right tyres for colder weather can be a challenge, but Davanti offers a comprehensive selection of all-season and winter tyres. These options provide a reliable, rigorously tested, and...

Paul Cowland with the Envoy tyre range
Envoy Tyres

What do those letters and numbers on your tyres mean? Paul Cowland’s guide to reading your rubber

Picture the scene: you’re kneeling in a petrol station forecourt, squinting at the sidewall of your car’s tyre, trying to decipher what looks like the cryptic scribblings of an ancient...

Davanti Tyres

Feel safe driving in the dark with Davanti’s winter and all-season range

As the clocks are set to change on 26th October and the shortest day of the year is fast approaching, driving in the dark is going to become the new...

Davanti Tyres

Tips for driving in the rain

With the arrival of the rainy season, drivers need to be a little more aware of the roads and make considerations that they wouldn’t normally make in the summer. To...