Multiple National Rally Champion Marcus Dodd was left to rue his misfortune after a short but scintillating performance on home soil this weekend, on the Rallye Sunseeker.  Driving his Flitewise.com backed Hyundai Accent WRC, Dodd had set six consecutive fastest stage times and had built a comprehensive 50 second lead before the clutch expired without warning on the Sunseeker Powerboats supported car.With Hove's Andrew Bargery alongside, Marcus was keen to make it a record fifth win on his home event.  After a steady start on the Friday evening's two 'super special' stages on the Bournemouth seafront, the Poole driver attacked with customary vigour on the opening stages of Saturday morning to quickly bypass leader Paul Bird's Subaru.  Dodd then seemed to enter a twilight zone in the Pirelli, Petards and Elf Oils backed car as he stunned his MSA National Gravel Championship competitors with a string of superb stage times.The chasing pack, lead enthusiastically by Scottish Rally Champion Barry Johnson had no answer to Dodd's exceptional pace.  With the all new paddle gearshift working seamlessly onboard the HPM Motorsport run machine, Dodd was smoothness personified as he took well over a second a mile off his rivals on every stage of Saturday morning.Unfortunately, the dominant performance by Dodd and Bargery was about to come to a cruel and unexpected ending after the Mount Ararat special stage.  After increasing their lead to a substantial fifty seconds, the Hyundai came to a sudden halt with a total clutch failure.  The red hot clutch plate signified the end of the road for Dodd, who even resorted to trying to cool down the offending item with a fire extinguisher.  Despite the on the spot fire duty, the game was over for Marcus, and a record breaking fifth Rallye Sunseeker victory would have to remain a dream for another season.  Understandably, Dodd was bitterly disappointed with the retirement:'Frustrating is the only word that sums it up really' commented Marcus.  'We've spent the winter developing the paddle shift gear change for the Hyundai, and it has made a major improvement to the car, especially from the driving perspective.  Sadly, the clutch has gone for a reason we are yet to discover, but it doesn't appear to be connected to the new gear change system.  I guess it is just one of those things that happens from time to time.  Prior to that point that car had been superb.  Both Andrew and I were very relaxed and comfortable with our pace, and we were both surprised to be so far ahead of the competition in such a relatively short period of time.  Sadly, you never take anything for granted in this sport, and I'm particularly disappointed for our sponsors Sunseeker Powerboats, as it would have been nice to win the event they have supported so strongly over recent years.  Hopefully we can put our strong pace to good use on the forthcoming Border Counties Rally, the next round of the championship.'Sadly for the HPM Motorsport team, the disappointment had not ended for the day.  Dodd senior, Harry, retired his identical Hyundai after a hydraulic pipe burst, and fellow Hyundai pilot Peter Egerton retired after transmission damage.  The fourth member of the team, Shaun Cronin and Colin Bell - both Dorset policeman - completed the event in their Subaru Impreza N8 in 38th overall, rising from their start number of 77 to complete a mixed day of fortune for the whole HPM team.