Dodd Victorious In Dusty Wales
Round 5 – The Swansea Bay National Rally – Swansea, Wales - Saturday 22nd July 2006
Former ANCRO National Rally Champions Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery took victory on round five of the MSA National Gravel Championship, the Swansea Bay National Rally.
The Poole driver finished just over three seconds ahead of Norwegian newcomer Andreas Mikkelsen and his co-driver Ola Floene who in turn crossed the finish ramp just over eight seconds ahead of Craig Middleton and Robin Hernaman.
Dust was a major problem over the opening loop of two stages with most competitors complaining about lack of visibility as the dust was hanging quite badly. Last year’s event winner and first on the road Julian Reynolds benefited most from the conditions through stages one and two and he and co-driver Paul Spooner had a 1.5 second lead over Marcus Dodd going into the first service halt of the day. Organisers decided to allow two minute gaps for the remainder of the stages on the grounds of safety and it was then that the WRC crews began to
move up the leader board.
Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield took the lead after stage three, the second run through Walter’s Arena and he held a 0.6 second lead over Dodd and Bargery going into stage four. It was here that Duckworth lost over forty seconds when his car slid off the road and he dropped to fourth overall. Craig Middleton took the lead after stage four and he extended his advantage by setting quickest time through stage five, the six mile Tyle test and he held a near five second
lead over Marcus Dodd going into second and final service.
A short distance into the penultimate stage saw Craig Middleton hit disaster. A quarter way into the seven mile Rheola test at a fast medium right, they hit the rear of the car off a bank and badly damaged a wheel. They dropped nearly thirty seconds over the fell to third overall, and as a result of the final stage being cancelled, they remained in third place, finishing over eight seconds behind Mikkelsen. Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery scored their second maximum score in this year’s championship.
Julian Reynolds and Paul Spooner won GpN, however, are not registered for championship points. Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson therefore score maximum points for finishing second GpN, Rob Smith and Alun Cook score second placed points and finish third GpN while Anthony Willmington and Andy White pick up third placed championship points. Petch and Wilkinson scored maximum points in the Mitsubishi Evo Cup and Rob Smith took maximum points in the Subaru GpN Trophy.
Declan Magee and Thomas Nugent won the Special Tuning 206 Super Cup section of the rally, finishing six seconds ahead of Colin Britton and Ross Butler.
The result hands Middleton second placed points in the championship as Mikkelsen is not registered. Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield finished fourth and picked up third placed championship points to head the series outright going into the next round, the Park Systems Stages rally in Scotland in September.
Results
Former ANCRO National Rally Champions Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery took victory on round five of the MSA National Gravel Championship, the Swansea Bay National Rally.
The Poole driver finished just over three seconds ahead of Norwegian newcomer Andreas Mikkelsen and his co-driver Ola Floene who in turn crossed the finish ramp just over eight seconds ahead of Craig Middleton and Robin Hernaman.
Dust was a major problem over the opening loop of two stages with most competitors complaining about lack of visibility as the dust was hanging quite badly. Last year’s event winner and first on the road Julian Reynolds benefited most from the conditions through stages one and two and he and co-driver Paul Spooner had a 1.5 second lead over Marcus Dodd going into the first service halt of the day. Organisers decided to allow two minute gaps for the remainder of the stages on the grounds of safety and it was then that the WRC crews began to
move up the leader board.
Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield took the lead after stage three, the second run through Walter’s Arena and he held a 0.6 second lead over Dodd and Bargery going into stage four. It was here that Duckworth lost over forty seconds when his car slid off the road and he dropped to fourth overall. Craig Middleton took the lead after stage four and he extended his advantage by setting quickest time through stage five, the six mile Tyle test and he held a near five second
lead over Marcus Dodd going into second and final service.
A short distance into the penultimate stage saw Craig Middleton hit disaster. A quarter way into the seven mile Rheola test at a fast medium right, they hit the rear of the car off a bank and badly damaged a wheel. They dropped nearly thirty seconds over the fell to third overall, and as a result of the final stage being cancelled, they remained in third place, finishing over eight seconds behind Mikkelsen. Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery scored their second maximum score in this year’s championship.
Julian Reynolds and Paul Spooner won GpN, however, are not registered for championship points. Stephen Petch and Michael Wilkinson therefore score maximum points for finishing second GpN, Rob Smith and Alun Cook score second placed points and finish third GpN while Anthony Willmington and Andy White pick up third placed championship points. Petch and Wilkinson scored maximum points in the Mitsubishi Evo Cup and Rob Smith took maximum points in the Subaru GpN Trophy.
Declan Magee and Thomas Nugent won the Special Tuning 206 Super Cup section of the rally, finishing six seconds ahead of Colin Britton and Ross Butler.
The result hands Middleton second placed points in the championship as Mikkelsen is not registered. Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield finished fourth and picked up third placed championship points to head the series outright going into the next round, the Park Systems Stages rally in Scotland in September.
Results
- Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery Hyundai Accent WRC - 0:48:28.2
- Andreas Mikkelsen/Ola Floene Ford Focus WRC - 0:48:31.5
- Craig Middleton/Robin Hernaman Hyundai Accent WRC - 0:48:36.5
- Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield Subaru Impreza WRC - 0:49:25.4
- Steve Perez/Scott Martin Ford Focus WRC - 0:49:29.9
- Richard Gower/Aled Davies Hyundai Accent WRC - 0:49.59.8
- Julian Reynolds/Paul Spooner Subaru Impreza - 0:50:27.7
- Stephen Petch/Michael Wilkinson Mitsubishi Evo 9 - 0:51:22.9
- Damian Cole/Craig Drew Hyundai Accent WRC - 0:51:26.2
- Rob Smith/Alun Cook Subaru Impreza - 0:51:29.1
- Roger Duckworth – 84 points
- Anthony Willmington – 79 points
- Craig Middleton – 72 points
- Richard Gower – 72 points
- Marcus Dodd – 69 points
- Wyn Humphries – 67 points
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