STARS SET TO SHINE ON RALLYE SUNSEEKER

The eagerly-anticipated battle for the 2010 MSA Gravel Rally Championship gets underway next weekend when crews from all over the UK as well as further afield converge on the South coast resorts of Bournemouth and Poole for the annual ANCRO season opener as the 25th annual Rallye Sunseeker roars into life.

And with the best field assembled in recent years, fans of the South Coast's premier motorsport event will be revelling in the atmosphere amid the Dorset forests.

Six-time event winner and very much the local hero Marcus Dodd from nearby Poole, along with co-driver Andrew Bargery from along the coast at Hove, will be looking to win back the crown they relinquished to Isle of Wight Subaru driver Will Nicholls and co-driver Nick Broom last year. Given that Nicholls and Broom are not returning to defend their title, the Hyundai Accent WRC pairing will start the event as one of the favourites.

Dodd is the reigning Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Champion, having landed the crown five times in total and the last three times in succession, and faces stiff opposition as heading the challenge will be four former champions who are making a welcome return to the fold.

Twice Rallye Sunseeker winner Roger Duckworth and co-driver Mark Broomfield took the Championship honours in 1998 and the driver, who lives near Silverstone, is back for another crack at the title in his venerable Subaru. 2004 ANCRO winner and VK boss Steve Perez from Chesterfield along, with co-driver Paul Spooner, has the ex-Marcus Gronholm Ford Focus WRC07 at his disposal and is fresh from winning last weekend's Wyedean Rally.

2005 Champion Paul Bird is back with a vengeance in his works-specification Ford Focus WRC08 and the flamboyant chicken farmer from Penrith won his last three events in a row with co-driver Kirsty Riddick, but like Perez, has never sampled Sunseeker glory.

The other winner of the national title to take to the start line is Ulsterman Kenny McKinstry, who won the series in 1999. The Subaru WRC driver will be looking to repeat his win on Rallye Sunseeker of 2002, this time with co-driver Harvey Bell on the notes.

The rivalry between Perez and Bird is legendary in Rallye Sunseeker history, but they, as well as Dodd, Duckworth and McKinstry, will be looking to their rear view mirrors as a host of top names is expected to be in the mix come Saturday afternoon.

Double British Champion Jonny Milner is reunited with his trusty Toyota Corolla WRC and co-driver Ian Windress and could be the dark horse while Irish marauders Richard Cathcart/Martin Brady (Subaru WRC) and Jonny Greer (Mitsubishi Evo 9) could spring a surprise.

County Durham driver Stephen Petch teams up with John Richardson in their Hyundai Accent WRC and don't rule out local aces Anthony Willmington/Andrew White (Mitsubishi Evo 6) and Scotsman Dave Weston Jnr and Ieuan Thomas in their latest version Subaru.

Scandinavian drivers Daniel Sigurdarson and Johannes Gunnarson add to the international ambience in their respective Mitsubishis as part of the shakedown for the upcoming Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge.

Other drivers who could make a splash on the two day event include local motor dealer Steve Hendy (Ford Focus WRC), BTRDA front runner Alex Allingham (Subaru) and the similar cars of Tristan Pye and Wug Utting plus there's a legendary MG Metro 6R4 competing in the hands of Stuart Larbey, which is always a crowd favourite.

Strength in depth in the various classes is the outcome of some radical restructuring of the championship over winter and around 70 crews will be doing battle for honours including the Viking Motorsport Ford Escort Challenge, 1400cc Cup, Super 2000 Cup and Land & Range Rover Cup, Richard Burns Trophy and Manufacturer's Award, which should make a great spectacle to entertain the huge crowds anticipated on the South Coast.

Throw in the cosmopolitan mix of 72-years-young veteran Harry Dodd (Hyundai Accent WRC) competing in his back yard, fast ladies Shelley Taunt and Sara Williams, both driving Subarus, and the iconic Lancia Delta Integrale Evo of Rod Bennett, and the scene is set for a typically exciting curtain raiser to the national rally scene.

The traditional Friday evening Winter Gardens and Seafront stage is not included this year, therefore the event gets underway with a ceremonial start at Poole Quay at 1815hrs on Friday, before the event proper starts on Saturday morning with the traditional loops around the forests and stately homes of Ringwood and Wareham before the winners' Champagne is uncorked in Bournemouth town centre around 1730hrs.

The image shows six-times Rallye Sunseeker winner Marcus Dodd and co driver Andrew Bargery in their Hyundai Accent WRC.

For more information, contact Xavier McCartan at tel 07515 998572 or email media@rallyesunseeker.co.uk or visit www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk and information on the 2010 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship is listed at www.msagravelrallychampionship.co.uk.