At prizegiving last night in the Marriott Hotel, Bournemouth Marcus Dodd praised the efforts of Co-Driver Andrew Bargery in helping him win his seventh Rallye Sunseeker title. He said
"Andrew was magnificent today, considering the conditions we faced. He called everything spot on, and even when the mid morning stages passed within yards of my own front door, he was calling me to take the correct lines, a great job as usual"
The pair finished back in Bournemouth Town Centre 33. seconds ahead of last minute entry Andrew Burton and Robin Kellard in the newly engined Peugeot Cosworth. Both were delighted on the finish ramp and Andrew said
"Its been a great battle here all day, with both Marcus and Steve, though to be honest we were on a closer battle with Steve than with Marcus. When we left the last service at Canford, we decided on the way to the next stage to give it a real go, and considering all the last minute hassles we had, our team did a great job to get us here"
Global Brands supremo Steve Perez, partnered by Paul Spooner eventually came home third in the Energy Drink Ford Focus WRC 07, rueing a last stage spin which cost him time in his battle with Andy Burton
"I threw it all away on the last stage! We had a minor spin but I accidentally caught the master switch and by the time we'd realised what had happened we'd lost a lot of time. It was our only problem all day long. The car has been great as always and we had a relatively comfortable second place until that happened" said Perez.
Following Perez home in fourth place was the Subaru WRC of former winner Roger Duckworth, who had a trouble free day partnered by Mark Broomfield. A further 29 seconds behind was Penrith based Paul Bird, who had a troubled day in his Ford Focus WRC 08. Paul said at the finish
"Its been a harder event than I intended for loads of reasons y'know, we lost time with a spin on stage 1, tried a different cut of tyre on the second loop to improve our times, but it was just one of those days when it didnt click, and Kirsty and I are happy to be back here safely in fifth place" He went on to say "Its been a good run out really too for the Malcolm Wilson stages next week, and I would be hopeful that we will do well there"
Jonny Milner and Ian Windress came home in sixth place in their Merlin International / BF Goodrich sponsored Toyota Corolla having endured a problematical morning in the Dorset Forests, and said at prizegiving last night
"The misfire and time we lost this morning really cost us y'know and but for that we could have finished much better, but once we got the misfire sorted or times were good and to be honest happy enough to get back here in once piece considering how slippy it was out there today"
Local driver Anthony Wilmington was delighted to back to Bournemouth and a solid 7th place after enduring a day of overheating and tyre issues.
Dave Weston Jnr was delighted to win the Production Cup and arrive back in 8th place, in his brand new Gp N Subaru Impreza. Dave said at the Award ceremony last night
"I am over the moon to have won in the car first time out, but then on the way back to Bouremouth myself and Ieuan realised that we had won the Richard Burns Trophy as well as the invite to the Goodwood Festival, so we were delighted with the way the whole trip down here worked out" He went on to say "It has been a good and well run event, but it always is and thats what makes you come here"
Rallye Sunseeker Overall Result
1, Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery - Hyundai Accent WRC - 55:02.1
2, Andrew Burton/Robin Kellard - Peugeot Cosworth - 55:35.8
3, Steve Perez/Paul Spooner - Ford Focus WRC07 - 55:48.8
4, Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield - Subaru Impreza WRC - 56:17.5
5, Paul Bird/Kirsty Riddick - Ford Focus WRC08 - 56:46.3
6, Jonny Milner/Ian Windress - Toyota Corolla WRC - 57:51.6
7, Anthony Willmington/Andrew White - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo6 - 58:21.3
8, Dave Weston Jnr/Ieuan Thomas - Subaru Impreza - 59:09.0
9, Jonathan Greer/Brian Crawford - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo9 - 59:40.4
10, Stephen Petch/John Richardson - Hyundai Accent WRC - 1:00.23.5
The Viking Motorsport Challenge was won by Richard Lane and Frank Richer came home as the winners.
The winners of the Free entry to the Le Touquet rally were Ian Barrett and Gavin Wirght in their Nissan Micra.
Rallye Sunseeker Historique
Run over seven of the days stages, the Winners of the Rallye Sunseeker Historique were Eric Davis and Russell Joseph in their Austin Mini Clubman by 39.5 seconds from Clive King and Bob Ward in a Mini Cooper S. At the finish Eric said "We have thoroughly enjoyed the days rallying. Ay the stages have been slippy, but it has been a test, and thats what rallying these cars is all about, cant wait to come back next year" Runner Up Clive King added "We really didnt know what to expect today as we have never been here before, but Rob Pike has put on a really good event for us, and we are happy to come home in second" Coming home third were Jason and Hugh Thompson also in Mini.
1, Eric Davis/Russell Joseph - Mini Clubman - 47:00.0
2, Clive King/ Bob Ward - Mini Cooper S - 47:39.5
3, Jason Thompson / Hugh Thompson - BL Mini - 48:42.0
Rallye Sunseeker Military Challenge
Arriving back to Bournemouth as winners of the Rallye Sunseeker Military Challenge were Majors Alan Paramore and James Sutherland in their Land Rover Wolf XD. The had a winning margin over the similar vehicle of Sgt Ewen Christie and Cpl Curtis McKerlie of over 4 minutes, who in turn were 1:39.4 ahead of Flt Lt Stephen Partridge and Flt Lt John Clayton again in another Wolf XD.
Rallye Videos
During the course of the Rally weekend students from a partnership between Bournemouth University and Rally Sunseeker were out on the stages taking Photos and Fliming the event. THis partnership came about to help local students get involved and gain expierience in a major sporting event.
Adam Parkers video can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/9782111
For further information, including class positions, please visit the 2010 MSA Gravel Rally Championship website: www.msagravelrallychampionship.co.uk.
All images used www.shelbyimages.com
Xavier Mc Cartan
Sunseeker Media Manager