The Swansea Bay National Rally was won in convincing style by Aberdeen Driver Dave Weston.

With local co-driver Aled Davies beside him, Weston (above) finished 20secs ahead of Marcus Dodd, who has won the last two Port Talbot MC events, but who has now recorded his second season win in the Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship.

The event which took in six timed stages in the forests of Margam, Resolven, Rhondda and the famous Walters Arena was to be a tough challenge for many crews.

Weston and Aled Davies led from the outset in their Ford Focus WRC and never looked back as they finished comfortably ahead of the leading gravel series crew, Dodd and co-driver Andrew Bargery in the Hyundai Accent WRC.

Championship leaders Jon Ingram and Ian Allsop finished third overall and took second in the series in their Subaru Impreza WRC as Steve Perez and Stephen McAuley were fourth in their Vodka Kick Focus WRC.

Ingram still leads the title chase but with Dodd's victory, and the two dropped scores to be taken into account, it is still all to play for.

"I'm pleased with the win but it's a shame someone didn't finish between Jon and I to keep the championship more open," Dodd said. "We had a push on stage five but we were a bit sensible on the last one."

Dodd and Bargery took charge at the top of the championship leader board from Ingram/Allsop on stage four after Ingram drove through the test in road mode and lost a bit of time. Dodd had his fair share of problems too when a brake seal went on stage three, but it cost him little time.

West Walian driver Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh (right) finished fifth in their Llanybydder D&C Rallying Subaru Impreza WRC after a relatively trouble-free run.

Scottish crew David Bogie and Kevin Rae followed in sixth and took the honours in the Group N and the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge in their Mitsubishi Evo9.

Richard Cathcart and Martin Brady were second in Group N and the Evo Challenge, just 3.2 seconds behind Bogie/Rae, as they were seventh overall, taking sixth place in the Gravel Championship in their Evo9 and made it to the finish despite an overshoot on stage two and a tyre problem on stage four.

The Hyundai Accent WRC of Damian Cole and Cliff Simmons provided another good result for Wales as they finished eighth. Neil McCance and Graham Hopewell were next in their Mitsubishi Evo 9, with the crew suffering with a puncture on stage five. Euan Thorburn and Claire Mole rounded up the top 10 in their Subaru Impreza.

There were several major retirements from the event. Keith Cronin and Greg Shinnors had been up to fifth on stage two in their Evo 9 but were forced out when they went off in stage four.

Daniel Barry and Mark Bowens also fell foul of the stage four curse as they also went off whilst leading their category.

Championship contenders Andy Burton and Shelley Rogerson also retired on stage four when they hit a bank and caused significant damage to their Peugeot Cosworth.

Roger Duckworth and Mark Broomfield, who had been fourth overall after stage four, went out on stage five when they broke a steering arm on the Ford Focus WRC.

 In the two-wheel drive challenge Nathan Crewe and John Connor wrapped up the title in their MG ZR as they won, finishing ahead of Alex Hack and Welsh constructor and co-driver Mark Sollaway in their Mk1 Ford Escort, and the Fiat Punto of Rod Bennett and Henry Richardson. Harrogate brothers Mike and David Curtis took the prize in the Revolution Wheels Challenge.
In the ANCRO Rally Challenge young Welsh driver Elfyn Evans and Gareth Roberts took the victory in their Ford Fiesta ST as they finished fourth overall in the Swansea Bay Clubmans Rally.