Andrew Cowan. A true legend.
Cowan, who passed away in hospital on Tuesday, headed Mitsubishi Ralliart Europe and guided Tommi Mäkinen to four consecutive WRC drivers’ titles from 1986 to 1999. The team also won the manufacturers’ crown in 1998.
He was born in 1936 and raised in the small town of Duns in Scotland’s Borders region, where he became close friends with future Formula 1 world champion Jim Clark.
After becoming involved with his local motor club, Cowan started rallying and in 1962 he won the Scottish Rally in a Sunbeam Rapier, an achievement he regarded as one of his greatest in motorsport. He repeated his victory the following year.
He became a works driver with the Rootes Group and Mitsubishi and arguably his greatest wins as a driver were in the London to Sydney Marathons.
Cowan won the 1968 event, which covered almost 17,000km in Europe and Australia, in a Hillman Hunter alongside Colin Malkin and Brian Coyle. He repeated his success in 1977, over a 30,000km route with Malkin and Mike Broad in a Mercedes-Benz 280E.
He won Australia’s Southern Cross Rallies five times between 1972 and 1976 and the world’s longest rally, the 32,000km South American Marathon in 1978. He finished Kenya’s gruelling Safari Rally in the top four on four occasions and was second in the Paris - Dakar Rally in 1985.