An incident involving a competing car has occurred on the opening stage of Rallye Sunseeker, resulting in the suspension of both the two stages through the gardens in the centre of Bournemouth.

No spectators were involved and the crew of the car also escaped serious injury, but a lamp post was knocked to the ground, leaving live electricity cables exposed.

The rally emergency services were on the scene almost immediately and were joined by the County Ambulance & Fire Services who set about the task of recovering the car.  

All the remaining competitors, who will receive notional times for the two stages as per MSA 'Blue Book' regulations, have been instructed to return to the service area at Canford Arena from where the event will restart at 8.30am on Saturday morning.

As a result the surprising leaders of the event are Alec Holding and Tony Cotton in their Peugeot 205 with a 4.9 second lead

2009 Events
Round 1  -  27/28th February  -  Rallye Sunseeker, Bournemouth
Round 2  -  21st March  -  Brick & Steel Border Counties Rally, Jedburgh
Round 3  -  18th April  -  Pirelli Tour of Cumbria, Carlisle
Round 4  -  8/9th May  -  RBS International Manx Rally, Douglas
Round 5  -  30th May  -  Severn Valley Rally, Builth Wells
Round 6  -  18th July  -  Swansea Bay Rally, Swansea
Round 7  -  5th September  -  Woodpecker Rally, Ludlow
Round 8  -  26th September  -  Trackrod Rally, Pickering