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The answers to any remaining
questions will be revealed come Saturday evening when the 2008 MSA Pirelli
Gravel Rally Championship reaches its conclusion with this weekend's Bulldog
Rally which gets underway in Oswestry.
And the battle for the overall driver's and
co-driver's titles will go right down to the wire, especially given the
extraordinary circumstances in which the leading to contenders have found
themselves in.
Altrincham property developer, Jon Ingram
and co driver Ian Allsop, was the model of consistency in the opening five
rounds, finishing all of them in his Subaru WRC, including a win and three
second places. However, following his wife suffering a serious accident just
prior to the Trackrod rally last month, he withdrew and given he is still caring
for her, he will not compete on this weekend's event either.
Ingram's absence means that triple ANCRO
champion Marcus Dodd, and co driver Andrew Bargery, will be hoping to secure a
record-breaking fourth crown to add to the ones he won in 2000, 2001 and
2007.
But following a dramatic final stage on the
Trackrod, when the Hyundai Accent WRC ground to a halt on the final stage in
Yorkshire when leading, it means nothing short of a win will do for the Poole
businessman.
The dropped scores permutations means that
if Dodd scores maximum ANCRO points on the Wolverhampton & South Staffs car
club event, he will pip Ingram by a single point, but if he finishes second
behind another ANCRO crew, he will lose it by two points meaning Ingram would be
crowned champion in his absence!
Despite winning the event twice in the past,
the last time being in 2001, Dodd's task is going to be no easy one, especially
with the level of entry that has been attracted. Former champion Steve Perez
will be a major threat in the classic mid-Welsh forests in his
2005-specification Ford Focus WRC, as will another ex champion, Roger Duckworth,
in his Subaru and late entries Charlie Payne (Mitsubishi WRC) and Julian
Reynolds (Subaru WRC).
Other contenders for overall honours include
the likes of Dave Weston (Ford Focus WRC) and Mark Higgins (MG Super 2000 Sport)
but with them not being registered for the ANCRO Championship, it means Dodd
doesn't have to win outright, he just needs to finish top ANCRO-points
scorer!
There is similar drama set to unfold in the
battle to become the 2008 Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution Challenge Champion,
which is also set to be decided on the Bulldog Rally.
Currently sharing the championship lead are
David Bogie and Nik Elsmore, both drivers tying on 44 points. With three Evo
Challenge wins under his belt this season, Bogie is best placed to lift the
crown and can do so by finishing fifth or higher.
However, it's never that easy and drivers
often say that competing at a less than flat-out pace can lead to lapses in
concentration, so the pressure is on for the young Scot.
With competitors having to drop a score from
one of the championship's seven rounds it means that Elsmore, who has finished
all the events so far, starts the Bulldog Rally in the knowledge that he will
have to drop at least six points. Therefore, he has to cross the line ahead of
the rest and is relying on Bogie, who has already dropped a score, not to
finish.
As well as hosting the two major
championships, the various classes within the series will also be decided.
Mirroring the Evo Challenge, either Elsmore or Bogie will be crowned Production
Cup winner with Stephen Petch (Hyundai Accent WRC) set to do battle with Bogie
for the Junior Driver title. Nathan Crewe and John Connor (MGZR) have already
boxed off the Two Wheel Drive Challenge although Harry Dodd and Rod Bennett have
still got to claim zimmer-frame rights in the Prima Motorsports 'Old Stagers'
class!
Bennett and Andrew Coley (Peugeot 206) are
tied on points in Class A6, whereas Kit and Tim Leigh have secured Class B12 and
co driver Kevin Rae heads the Production Cup and N4 categories in his respective
classes.
The event also is the penultimate round of
the ANCRO Rally Challenge.
Dodd will lead the cars away from Bulldog
Rally Base in Oswestry at 08.00 before tackling six stages totalling 65 stage
miles before retuning to the finish around 16.30.
Further details of the event are available
at www.bulldog-rally.co.uk or for
information on the 2008 MSA Gravel Rally Championship, please visit www.gravelrally.co.uk
Overall
Driver
1 Jon Ingram - 110 (less 0 &19) =
91
2 Marcus Dodd - 86 (less 0 & 0) = 86
3 Julian Reynolds - 77 (less
0 & 0) = 77
4 Nik Elsmore - 87 (less 12) = 75*
5 Stephen Petch - 72
(less 0 & 12) = 60
6 Richard Cathcart - 68 (less 0) = 68*
7 Roger
Duckworth - 65 (less 0 & 0) = 65
8 Neil McCance - 64 (less 0) = 64
9
Andy Burton - 63 (less 0 & 0) = 63
10 Steve Perez - 58 (less 0 & 0) =
58
*only one dropped score to
count
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