Crowds battle weather to see turbocharged Nissans & rally cars at Sunseeker

Despite gale-force winds, torrential rain and hail-stones battling rally-goers from Thursday onwards, they still came out in force to watch the slippery rally, support their favourite competitors and see the stands at the Turbo Dynamics sponsored-Somerley Park stages over the weekend.

Turbo Dynamics’ large stand at Somerley, which featured the TR Racing Nissan Skyline -driven by record-breaker Mick Begley - and a speedy new Nissan R35 GTR, proved very popular with spectators. The show cars gleamed, renowned Begley was on-hand along with Turbo Dynamics (TD) staff to answer questions, goodie bags were available and the TD gazebos provided a wind-break for anyone feeling the chill.

As in 2009, Turbo Dynamics also had its gorgeous TD Girl: Rebecca present at the rally. A true professional, Rebecca is currently featured in one of HSBC’s poster campaigns and has previously worked for the likes of Calvin Klein and Harley Davidson. Shining in front of the cameras, she was present at Scrutineering, the Opening Ceremony (held at Poole Quay on Friday night this year) and the Ramp Ceremony, held at Pier Approach in Bournemouth.

The lucky winners of the Richard Burns award, Dave Weston Jnr and Ieuan Thomas, were photographed with Rebecca and also scooped the very impressive £1000 prize-money.

As part of the newly-introduced Richard Burns award, Somerley Park also featured a stand showcasing the Richard Burns Foundation cars. This line-up again proved popular with rally-goers. Further attractions at the Turbo Dynamics stages included the Motorfair, a Sunseeker International stand and the Vodka Kick (VK) bus. Hants Fire & Rescue attended, putting on an attention-grabbing extraction demonstration for spectators.

The exciting rally itself, which is the opening round of the MSA Gravel Rally Championship, was once again won by the exceptionally talented duo: Marcus Dodd and Andrew Bargery. Dodd said: “Andrew was magnificent today considering the conditions we faced. He called everything spot on and even when the mid-morning stages passed within yards of my own front door he was calling me to take the correct lines! A great job as usual.” Dodd and Bargery take the title for the seventh time.

For more information about Rallye Sunseeker and Turbo Dynamics’ presence, visit turbodynamics.co.uk.