 He returned the following year to successfully defend his title, and as a result the Rootes Group invited him to become their 'works' driver.Once established as a professional driver, Cowan had many notable successes with both Rootes and subsequently Mitsubishi, for whom he signed in 1972.Aside from his two Scottish Rally titles, he won the first two London-Sydney Marathons in 1968 and 1977, five consecutive Southern Cross Rallies (1972–76), the 1977 Rallye Bandama Côte d'Ivoire, and the world's longest rally, the 20,000-mile South American Marathon in 1978.