Poole driver Marcus Dodd is celebrating after being crowned the 2007 MSA National Gravel Rally Champion after a controlled drive on today’s Killarney Forest Stages Rally. On a rare foray into Ireland for the premier British forest rallying series, Marcus had a trouble free run to second place overall taking yet another maximum points haul in the process. The result means that Dodd cannot be beaten with one round to go.
Supported by Flitewise.com, Pirelli Tyres and Sunoco Fuels, Marcus and co-driver Andrew Bargery arrived in Ireland confident they could take the fight to title rival Steve Perez in his Ford Focus WRC. The HPM Motorsport team had done a fine job of preparing the Hyundai Accent WRC ready for the new demands of Irish forestry. The stages are rougher than their equivalent roads on the mainland but the team were well prepared for the challenge posed by the forests near to the base town of Killarney – better known for its tarmac roads than gravel.
Eight special stages would greet the crews on Sunday 2nd September and Marcus had a clear mission. Beat Perez, and in doing so, win the title. Seeded behind his rival on the event, Marcus watched Perez head into the first stage and knew he would have to push hard to do lift the crown. Not long into the stage Dodd could smell burning rubber – but crucially it wasn’t coming from the Hyundai. Perez had picked up a puncture and Dodd took 50 seconds out of his rival on the first stage alone.
Marcus and Andrew could breathe a sigh of relief but the job was far from over. Dodd steadily picked his way through the stages to find himself just four seconds behind rally leader Stephen Moore heading into the final stage. Did he risk pushing to take the win or should he settle for 2nd overall and winning the championship for the third time? Unsurprisingly, Dodd chose the latter option and took a steady run through the stage. The result was a well earned win for the non championship registered Moore, and the prize of the championship title for Marcus, Andrew and HPM Motorsport.
Dodd was understandably elated at the finishing ramp of the event:
“I’m delighted for the HPM team as they have put the hard work in this year to give me a reliable and fast car. We’ve steadily developed the Hyundai over the past few seasons and winning the title was always the aim for the whole team. Andrew has been fantastic and the combination of the Pirelli Tyres and the excellent Sunoco Fuels has worked really well with the Accent WRC. It would have been so easy to collect a puncture here today as Steve did but we were able to keep our noses clean and out of trouble. After the first stage the title was pretty much decided and we could control the pace as we wanted to. Winning the series with a round to go is a testament to our performances during the year and we’ve been rewarded for being the pace setters on many of the events this year.”
Joining Marcus in Ireland was his father, Harry Dodd. The National Championship stalwart was also looking forward to the challenges posed by a new event to the team. Together with his Manx co-driver Richard Skinner, Harry would finish the rally a fine 23rd overall and 4th in class in his identical Hyundai Accent WRC.
October will see the final round of the series take place in Oswestry. The Bulldog Rally uses the highly popular forest stages of Dyfi, Gartheiniog and Dyfnant and is a favourite with competitors and spectators alike. Marcus and Andrew will hope to end the season in fine style with another maximum points score and victory if they can.
