Both systems survived G forces of up to 13G and speeds of in excess of 110mph on the narrow, bumpy stages of the rally.

Cobra fitted the UBI technology to the British Rally Championship (BRC)-leading car to showcase how its data box records all aspects of a car’s journey for use by insurance companies to track driving behaviour and to be used as a virtual witness in the event of an accident.

The UBI box’s crash alert was set off more than 38 separate times when decelerations of more than 2G were detected or when the car’s wheels literally took off and landed heavily back on the tarmac. This included special stage nine where the car clipped a bank but carried onto the finish.

The UBI system is already in use with the Co-Operative Young Driver Insurance scheme and this was the first time a commercial insurance telematics system had been successfully tested in the gruelling conditions of a car rally.

Cobra’s Global Live real time mobile CCTV system was also fitted inside the rally car to record live streaming pictures of all the action alongside the car’s position, speed and distance travelled during the two day rally. Two way communications between the Cobra Secure Operating Centre (SOC) and the rally car also meant that if Clarke and Cronin had an emergency situation this could be communicated quickly to the rally team.

‘The opportunity to sponsor Marshall and Keith’s car during the rally allowed us to bring the safety and security aspects of our UBI and Global Live technologies to life in a very arduous environment,’ explained Andrew Smith, Cobra UK’s managing director.

‘Analysing the data and imagery will show insurance companies and vehicle operators more about our systems – this was the first time we have been able to demonstrate the G sensor capabilities of the UBI box without the car being involved in a crash thanks to Keith’s superb driving skills,’ he added.

Rally driver, Marshall Clarke added: ‘We were pleased to have the Cobra technology on board and I am sure once we get to see the data and imagery we will see a new aspect to our performance. Cobra has shown just how companies can use rallying to test and showcase their new technologies.’