Multiple National Rally Champion Marcus Dodd makes the long trip north next weekend, as he contests the Border Counties Rally, second round of the MSA National Gravel Rally Championship. Dodd is keen to kick-start his championship campaign in the Flitewise.com backed Hyundai Accent WRC, run by H.P.M Motorsport.  The Poole driver was forced to retire from his recent home event, Rallye Sunseeker, after a clutch problem sidelined him when nearly a minute ahead of his nearest competitor.With Hove's Andrew Bargery alongside, Dodd will be keen to improve on his third place from last year's visit to the Kielder forests, and with the all new paddle shift gear change now working perfectly onboard the Hyundai, Marcus is confident that he can take the fight to local favourite and last year's event winner Barry Johnson (Subaru).  Johnson will be a hard man to beat on his home soil, and Dodd is also expecting a fierce challenge from recent Rallye Sunseeker winner Craig Middleton in his similar Hyundai Accent WRC.  The trio set the pace on Rallye Sunseeker, but Dodd was untouchable until a terminal clutch problem left the Accent WRC high and dry on the ninth stage of the rally.Supported by Sunseeker Powerboats and Pirelli Tyres, Marcus is confident that he has the pace to win after a comprehensive series of developments to the H.P.M Motorsport fleet of Hyundai's over the winter months:'I think we're improving the car all the time' said Marcus.  'The paddle shift gear change really has transformed the way the car drives.  It's much easier to change gear mid corner and I'm finding it much easier to drive the car since we developed it this way.  The clutch problem we suffered on the recent Rallye Sunseeker has now been cured and we're confident that the reliability issue has been solved.  The car has plenty of pace as we showed in Bournemouth, so we just need to string it all together now and the results will follow - I'm certain of that.'Dodd will be joined in the Scottish borderlands by his father Harry, who will be piloting an identical Flitewise.com backed Hyundai.  Harry was also forced to retire from the Dodd's home event in Bournemouth with a mechanical problem, and both father and son are determined to get their MSA Gravel Rally Championship aspirations back on track this weekend.  Marcus will be hoping that the championship promoters decision to change the scoring pattern to five scores to count from seven rallies will work in his favour this year.  The Englishman will certainly be one of the favourites for success next weekend as he gears up for another tough battle at the sharp end of the leaderboard.