Mark Donnelly and Dai Roberts won this year´s Rallye Sunseeker, the largest Motorsport event in the south of England´s sporting calendar, held over the 24th and 25th of February. The Northern Irishman raced through the forests of Dorset and Hampshire with co-driver Dai Roberts to take the title in his Renault Clio R3 in a time of 1:07:06.0. Organised by Southern Car Club Ltd, Sunseeker was the official title sponsor of this popular race for the 14th year running.

Mark Donnelly and Dai Roberts - Winners of the Rallye Sunseeker 2012 Image Courtesy of Jakob Ebery

The Rallye kicked off in the presence of the Mayor of Poole at Poole Quay on Friday the 24th of February, home to Sunseeker’s headquarters and is said to have attracted over 8,000 spectators.

Somerley Park, which was home to the Vale Motors Somerley Experience and Motorfair was blessed with sunshine on the race day which was held on the Saturday. Cars reached more than 100mph on fast stretches, and spectators were given the chance to get close to the action.

Around 2,000 fans gathered by Bournemouth Pier to witness winners Mark Donnelly and Dai Roberts, who beat runners-up Desi Henry and Niall Burns in a Citroen DS3 by almost 2 minutes, take part in the traditional Champagne spray on the podium, attended by the Mayor of Bournemouth.

Rick Smith, Event Director for Rallye Sunseeker said, “Personally, I feel this has been the best Rallye Sunseeker ever run. The atmosphere was fantastic, the weather was great and the winners were very deserving. All in all, an amazing event.”