February 22nd; The Dolphin Shopping Centre played host to an iconic Ford Escort MkII rally car on Saturday February 20th, extending an early welcome to the Rallye Sunseeker ahead of its first ceremonial start in Poole.

The 250bhp 1981 Escort MkII was showcased courtesy of the Dolphin Shopping Centre by leading local rally crew Les Harrogate, from Wimborne, and Matt Thorne, from Hinton Martell.

Busy Saturday shoppers were slightly surprised to find the SCF Hardware-backed car on display, but Les and Matt earned some valuable local support ahead of their bid to take the Class 8 spoils next Saturday on the challenging Rallye Sunseeker stages.

“The enthusiasm for both the Rallye Sunseeker and the event here at the Dolphin Shopping Centre has been fantastic,” commented Les. “If there’s one thing us guys like to do, it’s to show off our cars, so it’s brilliant to see people’s reaction at finding a proper rally car sat in the centre. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness for us and the event.

“We’ve spoken to a lot of people who just love the nostalgia and the sound of the MkII Escort, it’s unique, and the way it fishtails its way through the forest just makes it the rally fan’s favourite. We’ve had a lot of interest, people came here especially to see it, and we hope to carry some of that support with us and see a few more arms waving in the crowd as we blast through the stages next weekend.”

Dolphin Shopping Centre Manager Stephanie Lacey said: “Les and Matt were certainly given a warm welcome by our visitors. It was great to have such a unique feature on show and be able to support one of the UK’s spectacular motorsport events. Les and Matt are one of the promising local crews contesting the Rallye Sunseeker and we wish them all the best for next weekend.”