by Gary Simpson / Songasport
Andrew Burton and Shelley Rogerson began their season in style on the Wyedean Forest Rally at the weekend with a brilliant victory.
Over 150 cars started the Chepstow-based event which took place mainly in the Forest of Dean.
Burton and Rogerson were immediately on the pace, setting the quickest time on the opening 5.6 mile Chepstow Park stage with Nik Elsmore and Daniel Barry in second and third places respectively.
The second stage of the rally, Serridge, saw the Peugeot Cosworth duo lose some time with a small excursion off the road. Despite the off though, Burton and Rogerson still set second fastest time on the stage.
"The opening stage was very muddy and slippery but Andrew drove well and we were pleased to set the fastest time," said Rogerson. "We were lucky on the second stage, we overshot a corner and went off the track. Fortunately we were able to reverse back onto the road with no damage to the car."
The twisty Sallowvallets stage was next, Burton and Rogerson stopping the clock with a time 3 seconds slower than Elsmore, who now led the event from the Peugeot Cosworth crew with the World Rally Cars of Hugh Hunter and Will Nicholls in third and fourth.
A short stage at Chepstow racecourse saw Burton and Rogerson regain the lead by a second as the crews headed to the main service halt of the event.
Following service there were three more stages in the Forest of Dean, the first of which, Speech House resulted in Burton and Rogerson extending their lead, beating the Mitsubishi of Elsmore by 21 seconds. Two more fastest times followed and in the end Burton and Rogerson arrived at the rally finish with a lead of 41 seconds.
"With Nik only one second behind us we really pushed in Speech House and, although we had some problems with the brakes near the end of the stage, we managed to pull out a good lead," Shelley added. "We kept the pace up on the last two stages and extended our lead further. I'm delighted with the result, it's a brilliant way to start my season.
![Andrew Burton / Shelley Rogerson - Peugeot Cosworth. Wyedean. February 2008. [Pic credit: Songasport]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405776.jpg)
