Rally driver Dominic Hodge faces a race against time to repair his car ahead of his next event, after retiring from last weekend's Abingdon Rally Carnival with a blown head gasket on his Peugeot 205 GTi.

Hodge, who competes in the Quaife Peugeot 205 Scholarship championship with backing from communications companies Telserve and Redstone Telecom, was using his local rally to get in some Tarmac practice after two recent rallies in the forests of Cumbria.

Unfortunately, the Bampton man got only ten miles into the eight-stage, 90-mile event when trouble struck. He said: "I noticed the engine was running very hot, before we came to a series of tight corners. Suddenly, the temperature went sky high and the motor sounded extremely sick. We continued to the end of the stage, but it was game over."

Hodge needs the car for the next round of the Peugeot Scholarship, the Mid-Wales Stages Rally, which takes place over the former RAC Rally stages in Sweet Lamb and Hafren forests on Sunday.

He added: "There's a real sense of urgency about the repairs, as we are fifth in the championship, and want to improve on that in Wales."