DIVERS FOR DRIVERS ON RALLYE SUNSEEKER!

Motor sport conjures up visions of drivers in fireproof overalls, rather than men in wet-suits! However, when Rallye Sunseeker, the first round of the Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship, starts in Bournemouth on Friday 22 nd February, the 1000-plus volunteer safety marshals will include a team of divers from Bournemouth & Poole Sub Aqua Club.

The job of the divers is to support the medics and crews of the specialist rally rescue vehicles, should a rally car crash into water. In preparation for that role, Bournemouth & Poole Sub Aqua Club's divers recently visited HPM Motorsport at Poole for a training session with reigning British National Rally Champion, Marcus Dodd (see attached picture).

Commenting on the training day, Diving Team Leader Vic Cooper said, “Marcus was the ideal person to explain the safety features of rally cars to us, having received a Royal Humane Society Award in 2006 for his bravery in rescuing two fellow competitors who had crashed into a Welsh lake. If we have to carry out a similar underwater rescue, it's vital that we know how to release seat belts, disconnect intercom systems, and understand about roll cages that could hamper a rescue.”

Marcus Dodd, who has won Rallye Sunseeker a record five times, will be tackling the 2008 event in one of HPM Motorsport's Hyundai Accent WRC cars as will his father Harry. “I love Rallye Sunseeker”, said Marcus, “not just because it's my home event, but because it's one of the best organised rallies in the country. It's a mark of the organising team's attention to detail that they have brought in Vic Cooper and his colleagues, even though there's only one corner on the whole rally where there's a risk of going-off into a river.”

Rallye Sunseeker Chief Safety Officer Neil Roden commented, “Although the risk is low, however good our communications and the speed of response of our normal rescue units, there's no substitute for having the highly trained experts of Bournemouth & Poole Sub Aqua Club on site ready to deal with such an incident the moment it happens. I'm very grateful to Marcus and his team at HPM Motorsport for explaining the challenges that face divers carrying out a rescue from a submerged rally car.”

Rallye Sunseeker takes place over the weekend of 22/23 February with the first special stage at 7.00pm on Friday evening through Pavilion Gardens in Bournemouth . Following an overnight halt, the Saturday stages continue in the forests of Wareham and Ringwood and in the grounds of Somerley Park , near Ringwood.