Multiple National Rally Champion Marcus Dodd was on fine form in the Scottish borderlands this weekend. The recent Rallye Sunseeker winner was setting a strong pace to lead the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally when an excursion put paid to any chance of making it win number two in this years MSA National Gravel Rally Championship.
The ever rapid Hyundai Accent WRC driver from Poole was keen to continue where he left off after a dominant display on home soil in Bournemouth. Dodd fended off a challenge from the Ford Focus WRC of Steve Perez/Claire Mole to take a very comfortable win. The Flitewise.com, Sunseeker Powerboats, Pirelli Tyres and Sunoco Fuels backed Hyundai ended the rally one minute and thirty seconds ahead of the closest challenger.
Together with Hove’s Andrew Bargery, Marcus was determined to make it back to back wins on the Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally based in Jedburgh. Dodd dodged the snow and ice of last year’s event to take a finely judged victory. Snow and ice made way for bright and cold conditions in 2007, and Marcus was immediately into the lead with a strong time on the opening stage.
Regular sparring partner Steve Perez was once again proving to be the thorn in Dodd’s side. It was nip and tuck between the pair over the opening loop of stages with Marcus and Steve swapping fastest stages. Just over a second separated the pair heading into the sixth stage of the rally. Unfortunately, it was destined to be the final stage for the HPM Motorsport run Hyundai. The car was to leave the road during the stage after running wide on a corner and Marcus and Andrew were unable to re-join. It was a disappointing end for what had been another strong performance prior to that point.
Dodd remained positive despite the obvious disappointment:
“Unfortunately Kielder Forest got the better of us this year” said the 2006 event winner. “We ran slightly wide on a corner and the car slipped into a ditch and rolled very gently onto its roof. There is hardly any damage and it was all the more disappointing as up until that point the car had been going very well and everything looked set for a good fight to the finish with Steve (Perez). We are allowed to drop two scores in the championship so that means we’ll need to put in some strong performances over the remainder of the year. The events in Wales really suit my driving style and the Manx is an event that we’ll need a good clean run on as well. Whilst I’m disappointed to have retired from this event, I take heart from the fact that once again we were more than a match for anyone and there’s no doubt that we have the pace to win again this year. There is a long way to go so we’ll bounce back at the Manx and then take it from there.”
Harry Dodd was also contesting the event. The father of Marcus was without regular co-driver Roy Campbell, having Manxman Richard Skinner alongside for this event. The pair kept out of trouble to finish 28th overall and 5th in class. Next up for the HPM Motorsport team are the super fast tarmac roads of the Isle of Man. The RBS International Manx Rally will be a tough test of both men and machines, and Marcus in particular will be looking to get more points on the board on May 11/12.
