VICTORY FOR DODD ON RALLYE SUNSEEKER

Picture courtesy of www.cmwi.net: Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery heading to victory in the wet conditions on today's Rallye Sunseeker.
Defending champions Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery got the defence of their title underway in the best possible fashion with a sensational seventh victory on Rallye Sunseeker held in Bournemouth at the weekend.

Driving the Hyundai Accent WRC the pair emerged 33.7 seconds ahead of the Peugeot Cosworth of Andrew Burton and co driver Robin Kellard, with former ANCRO champion Steve Perez and co driver Paul Spooner claiming third place a further 13 seconds back on the opening round of the 2010 MSA Gravel Rally Championship.

Dodd, from nearby Poole, overcame the disappointment of retiring on last year's event, and also the drenched Dorset forests this year, to run out a clear winner and apart from a couple of moments during the day his only problem was an errant warning light on the last stage.

Burton, who decided not to register for ANCRO points, brought his crowd-pleasing Peugeot Cosworth home in runner-up spot after Perez, the 2004 national champion, suffered a last stage spin which meant the Chesterfield driver had to settle for third place in his Ford Focus WRC07.
Towcester's Roger Duckworth and co driver Mark Broomfield had a trouble-free run to fourth place in their Subaru WRC, with Paul Bird, from Penrith, and co driver Kirsty Riddick in their Ford Focus WRC08 putting in a brave drive to finish fifth following the death of his mother last week.

Yorkshiremen Jonny Milner and Ian Windress brought their Toyota Corolla WRC home in sixth after a misfire slowed the former double British champion earlier on. Next up was Anthony Willmington, Dave Weston Jnr and Jonny Greer, but none of them were registered for points leaving Co Durham driver Stephen Petch and co driver John Richardson to claim sixth place ANCRO points following their tenth place finish in the Hyundai Accent WRC.

In the Viking Motorsport Ford Escort Challenge, Richard Lane and co driver Frank Richer took the spoils and the Nissan Micra pairing of Ian Barrett and co driver Gavin Wright claimed victory in the 1400cc Cup.
Marcus Dodd: "It's been a very difficult rally and the stages have been as wet as I've ever known them but to win this event for the seventh time is fantastic. One mile from the end of the last stage the water temperature shot through the roof but it was not a problem in the end and to claim victory on my local event is a great start to the year."
The next event takes place on 23rd/24th April with the Pirelli Tour of Cumbria which is based in Carlisle.

Source: www.msagravelrallychampionship.co.uk.

STARS SET TO SHINE ON RALLYE SUNSEEKER

Six-times Rallye Sunseeker winner Marcus Dodd and co driver Andrew Bargery in their Hyundai Accent WRC.
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 entry assembled in recent years, fans on the South Coast's premier motorsport event will be revelling in the atmosphere amidst the Dorset forests.

Six-times event winner and very much the local hero Marcus Dodd from nearby Poole along with co driver Andrew Bargery from just down 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, and 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.

Whereas Dodd is the reigning Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Champion having landed the crown five times in total and the last three times in succession, he 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 whereas 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 has won his last three events in a row along 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 and 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 having to look to their rear view mirrors as there are a host of top names 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 so could be the dark horse whilst 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.

With the traditional Friday evening Winter Gardens and Seafront stage not included this year, the event gets underway with a pompous ceremonial start at Poole Quayside at 18.15 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 17.30.

More details, including entry lists, spectator information and maps etc on the event can be found at www.rallyesunseeker.co.uk and information on the 2010 MSA National Gravel Rally Championship is listed at www.msagravelrallychampionship.co.uk.

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FHI TO WITHDRAW FROM FIA WRC AFTER 2008 SEASON

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the maker of Subaru automobiles, has announced the withdrawal from the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) at the end of the 2008 season.

FHI has participated in the WRC together with Prodrive, a motorsports and automotive engineering group in the UK, over the past 19 years to pursue its goal and philosophy in motor sports activities to enhance Subaru brand awareness by showing that Subaru vehicles offer safe, comfortable and pleasurable driving no matter the weather or road conditions, featuring Horizontally-Opposed engine and the Symmetrical All-Wheel drive system as its core technologies, and to transfer results of race-tested technical improvements into Subaru passenger vehicles.

Subaru has won three manufacturer’s championship titles and three driver’s championship titles in its history of rally racing. This has helped enhance the value of the Subaru brand as well as the sales expansion of Subaru vehicles all over the world.

FHI considers it has achieved its original target in WRC participation. However, while considering positioning the WRC activity in Subaru branding strategy towards the future, our business environment has been dramatically changed due to the quick deterioration of the global economy. In order to optimize the management resources and to strengthen further the Subaru brand, FHI decided to withdraw from WRC activities at the earliest timing.

As regards future involvement in rally activities, FHI will continue to support teams and drivers that participate in P-WRC or the Group N category.
source: newspress

BACK THE BRIT!

British rally champion Guy Wilks is in a race against time to land a seat with the Subaru World Rally Team for 2009 – and he needs Britain to back him. In order to raise £2 million to meet the WRC budget Subaru requires, he is appealing to British motorsport fans, motor clubs and British businessmen to get behind him. Basically, this is a chance for everyone who shares a passion for the sport to get involved in the Wilks 500 Club investment/sponsorship scheme. Guy said: "Driving for Subaru would be the realisation of a dream for me and I think it would really give British rally fans something to cheer. It would be fantastic."
Subaru has said that Guy would receive equal machinery to Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson if the Wilks 500 Club can raise the finance to secure a third seat in the team next year.

Benefits for investors (contributions of £2000 or more) would include the opportunity for branding on the rally car and driver/co-driver teamwear. Wilks 500 Club advertisers/sponsors (support of £500 or more) will enjoy the privilege of their name, company or chosen charity being advertised on a special Union Jack montage on http://guywilks.com, together with a web link. http://guywilks.com has had more than 20,000 page views in six weeks, and the Union Jack montage will be promoted in The Sun and other national publications. You will also get free entry into the Wilks 500 Club draw, where some of the prizes you could win include a road-going Subaru Impreza WRX STi, branding on Guy's 2009 race helmet, a WRC trip for two and a white-knuckle rally ride with Guy. You will receive two free tickets to the Wilks 500 Club Party and auction – a superb opportunity to network with the motorsport community.


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MCRAE CONVOY CREATES NEW WORLD RECORD

Over 1000 Subaru owners and thousands more fans celebrated the life of Colin McRae this weekend. The convoy (almost 30 miles long) left Colin’s home town of Lanark and was waved on by fans as it made its way to Prodrive in Banbary. In a fitting finale to the event, a sign almost half a mile long made up of 1086 Subarus spelt out COLIN MCRAE and the Scottish Saltire in a new official Guinness World Record!

source: newspress.co.uk

Convoy to celebrate the life of Colin McRae

A total of nearly 1300 Subarus will congregate on Sunday the 31st of August at Prodrive in Banbury. McRae’s 1996 Impreza 555 rally car will lead the convoy on the M4 which will stretch nearly 20 miles long. Two official Guinness World Record attempts will be made. The first being the total of 1300 Subarus on parade, and secondly, the cars will write out ‘COLIN MCRAE’ in a sign nearly half a mile long and visible to passengers landing at Birmingham airport. Subarus will be participating from all over Europe, from Poland and the Ukraine to France and Spain, while some fans are flying in especially from Australia and Argentina to be part of this occasion.
For more information on the event visit www.mcrae-gathering.co.uk For more info on the convoy route visit www.prodrive.com
Colin McRae features heavily in the Veloce book Subaru Impreza (Rally Giants Series) By Graham Robson. This book describes the birth, development, and rallying career of the turbocharged, four-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza in the 1990s and early 2000s, providing a compact and authoritative history of where, when and how it became so important to the sport.

UK Subaru Team Victorious at Rally. With the power of a lawnmower!

The Liege-Brescia-Liege is a 2000-mile rally through some tough European terrain, including Italy's Stelvio and Gavia Passes.

The victorious UK foursome consisted of two Subaru 360cc microcars. The first car was driven by classic car restorer and seasoned historic rally driver James Ewing and his designer partner, Jane Puttock, from Surrey. The second Subaru 360 was driven by Managing Director Victor Sayer from Reading and Craig Lawson from Hampshire.

They scooped 1st prize in the Under 425 Class, plus Best Lady Driver for Jane. In addition, James and Jane came 6th in the Spirit 400 Class.

The Liege-Brescia-Liege commemorated 50 years of the Subaru 360. Both the cars used in the rally were from the 1967 and 1968 model years, and are powered by 2-cylinder, air-cooled 2-stroke engines mounted in the rear, producing 20PS each – which is less than some single-seater petrol lawnmowers!!

soucre newspress.co.uk

MICROCARS AT LARGE!



This book charts the history and development of the small economy cars which emerged after the Second World War. Finances and raw materials were in short supply and these microcars, or 'bubble cars' as they became affectionately known, provided transport for thousands of impoverished motorists during that lean period in the middle of the twentieth century. These tint economy cars now have a significant place in motoring history. This book follows the microcar’s progress right up to the present day, with original colour photographs.


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Subaru Impreza community to pay tribute to Colin McRae

A world record 1000 Imprezas are expected to descend on Prodrive on Sunday August 31, as the Subaru community gathers to pay a fitting tribute to the late Colin McRae.

Led by McRae’s 1995 World Rally Championship-winning Impreza 555, a convoy of Subarus will leave Colin’s home town of Lanark at 10 am on Saturday 30 August. The initially small group of Subarus will head down the A74, M6, M42 and the M40 before arriving at Prodrive (home of the Subaru World Rally Team) in Banbury later the same day.

Source newspress.co.uk

Great Subaru Impreza titles available from Veloce Publishing..

Subaru Impreza (Rally Giants Series)



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"The new Impreza - It sticks to the road" : Subaglue transporter

"The new Impreza - It sticks to the road" : Subaglue transporter,
originally uploaded by Bobasonic.

"The new Impreza - It sticks to the road"


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Coming Soon! Subaru Impreza – All turbo models 1994 to 2007 by Veloce Publishing