Aberdeen driver Dave Weston claimed the overall victory on today's Swansea Bay National Rally as Marcus Dodd took his second win of the season in the 2008 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship.

Weston and co-driver Aled Davies led from the outset in their Ford Focus WRC and never looked back as they finished 20 seconds 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 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 leaderboard 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 as a brake seal went on stage three, but it cost him little time.

Julian Reynolds and Patrick Walsh finished fifth in their Impreza WRC after a relatively trouble-free run. Scottish crew David Bogie and Kevin Rae followed in sixth and took the honours in Group N and the Mitsubishi Evo Challenge in their Mitsubishi Evo 9.

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 Evo 9 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 finished eighth with Neil McCance and Graham Hopewell ninth in their 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 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 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.

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 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 Elfyn Evans and Gareth Roberts took the victory in their Ford Fiesta ST as they finished fourth overall in the Swansea Bay Clubmans Rally. Alastair Fisher and Paul Morris were runners-up in their Fiesta ST as they were eighth, followed by Tom Walster and Andy Morgan in their Fiesta ST in ninth.

The Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship returns for round six, the Trackrod National Rally on Saturday 27 September.

Final Classification

1, Dave Weston/Aled Davies - Ford Focus WRC                       - 1:00:21.0s
2, Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery - Hyundai Accent WRC             - 1:00:41.0
3, Jon Ingram/Ian Allsop - Subaru S11 WRC                           - 1:01:05.3
4, Steve Perez/Stephen McAuley - Ford Focus WRC                  - 1:01:14.5
5, Julian Reynolds/Patrick Walsh - Subaru Impreza WRC          - 1:01:33.5
6, David Bogie/Kevin Rae - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9                  - 1:01:44.8
7, Richard Cathcart/Martin Brady - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9         - 1:01:48.0
8, Damian Cole/Cliff Simmons - Hyundai Accent WRC               - 1:02:33.1
9, Neil McCance/Graham Hopewell - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9       - 1:03:05.9
10, Euan Thorburn/Claire Mole - Subaru Impreza                     - 1:03:50.4

 Provisional Championship Standings (after Round 5)

1, Jon Ingram            110 points
2, Marcus Dodd            86 points
3, Nik Elsmore             69 points
4, Richard Cathcart      68 points
5, Neil McCance           64 points
6, Andy Burton            63 points
7, Julian Reynolds       57 points