Fire ends Shelley Rogerson’s Woodpecker hat-trick hopes

Rally co-driver Shelley Rogerson suffered a dramatic exit on last Saturday’s Woodpecker Stages rally when the Peugeot Cosworth she was competing in with Andrew Burton had a fire.

Problems obtaining parts meant that work to get the car ready for the event following an accident on its previous rally continued right up until the start on Saturday morning. However, Burton and Rogerson made it to the start line in Ludlow and all the parts seemed to be working as they set fastest time on the opening Bringewood stage by 5 seconds from Shaun Gardener in his Mitsubishi.

“We were pleased to make the start of the event, it was all very last minute with a new radiator being fitted on Friday night and various other bits being finished on Saturday morning,” said Shelley.

“It was a relief to get to the first stage and we were delighted to set fastest time. The stage was quite unusual with bits of tarmac road between the normal gravel tracks but Andrew drove well and we had no problems.”

Another fastest time followed on the second stage, High Vinnells, before a 4th fastest time on stage 3 saw Burton and Rogerson arriving back at the service area in Ludlow in first place overall with Gardener second and Steve Perez, who was co-driven by Burton’s son Josh, in third.

Disaster was to strike on the fourth stage of the event which took place in Radnor forest. Burton and Rogerson started the stage but as they approached the second junction large flames appeared from the passenger side of the car. The crew immediately stopped and Shelley was dragged from the car through the driver’s door, the flames preventing exiting on the other side. The fire was quickly extinguished but their rally was over.

“It was a very scary moment when the flames appeared, especially as they were on my side! I’ve never experienced a fire in the car before and it’s an experience I don’t want to repeat, ” commented Shelley.

“It’s very disappointing, we were having a good battle with Shaun and Steve and it would’ve been good to continue the battle to the finish and possibly get my third victory on the event. After our accident on the Swansea Bay rally and this I hope we have better luck soon! I’d like to thank Co-ordSport, Legend Fires, AMG TV, Nicky Grist, Alan Cookson from GillettsSpar.com and Songasport for their support.”

It is not certain what the next event for the Peugeot duo will be but the car should be ready for the Plains Rally on September 20th should they decide to put an entry in.

Somerset victory hopes dashed for Shelley

Bentham’s Shelley Rogerson, 22, suffered her first rally retirement since September 2006 when a broken crankshaft denied a chance of taking victory on last Saturday’s Somerset Stages rally.

Shelley was partnering Andrew Burton in his Peugeot Cosworth and their rally got off to a brilliant start when they set the fastest time on the opening three mile Broadwood stage. Two more forest stages followed with Burton and Rogerson once again setting the fastest time, taking a lead of eight seconds over second placed Damian Cole at the first service halt of the event.
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Shelley Rogerson set for Border Counties battle

Bentham’s Shelley Rogerson will head north next weekend when she contests round 2 of the MSA Gravel Rally championship, the Jedburgh-based Brick and Steel Border Counties Rally.
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Shelley seeks Rallye Sunseeker success

Bentham’s Shelley Rogerson will contest her second rally of 2008 when she heads to Bournemouth on Friday (22nd February) to compete on the Rallye Sunseeker. The rally is the opening round of the MSA Gravel Rally championship.Shelley, 22, will be partnering Kington’s Andrew Burton in his Peugeot Cosworth. After taking victory on the Wyedean Forest Rally recently the pairing are hoping for another good result on the Sunseeker although with several top crews in World Rally Cars also contesting the event the competition will be tough.”It’s going to be hard to repeat our Wyedean victory, we know from last year how close the competition can be in the Gravel Rally championship,” said Shelley.

“We’ll do our best to be on the pace though and hopefully get a good haul of points to kick-off the championship. I’d like to thank my sponsors Co-ordSport, Legend Fires, AMG TV, Nicky Grist and Songasport and my friends Gary, Tim and Jason for their support.”

The rally starts on Friday night with a short stage in Bournemouth town centre. The bulk of the competitive mileage is on Saturday with 70 miles of gravel tracks in Wareham and Ringwood forests and the grounds of Somerley Park.

[Source]

Shelley set for Wyedean season opener

Rally co-driver Shelley Rogerson, 22, will kick off her 2008 rally season next weekend (9th February) when she contests the Wyedean Forest Rally with Andrew Burton.

After a successful 2007, which saw her take three overall victories, Bentham-based Shelley is aiming for a good result on the event in Burton’s Peugeot Cosworth, although they will face tough competition with a high number of World Rally Cars taking part in the event. The pairing previously contested the event in 2006 when gearbox gremlins halted their rally early.

“Last time we did the Wyedean it was very disappointing to retire not far into the rally, hopefully we can build on the results we achieved in 2007 and get a good finish to start the year well. It will be great to be out in the Peugeot Cosworth once more, I’m grateful to Andrew for asking me to sit with him again and also to my sponsors, Co-ordSport, Nicky Grist, Legend Fires, AMG TV, Songasport and friends Gary, Tim and Jason for their support.”

The Wyedean Forest Rally is the first round of the BTRDA championship and takes place mainly in the Forest of Dean with around 45 miles of gravel stages. Over 150 crews are expected to start the event, which is based at Chepstow racecourse. More information on the rally can be found at www.wyedeanrally.co.uk

Shelley is hoping to contest most rounds of the MSA Gravel Rally championship in 2008 with Burton, starting with the Sunseeker Rally at the end of February.

[Source: GirlRacer.co.uk]