by Gary Simpson / Songasport
Andrew Burton and Shelley Rogerson had a successful Rallye Sunseeker last weekend when they took second place on the opening round of the 2008 MSA Pirelli Gravel Rally Championship.
The rally started on Friday night with two runs of a short stage in Bournemouth town centre which was lined with thousands of spectators. The Peugeot Cosworth of Burton and Rogerson emerged from the two stages in sixth place.
Saturday saw the rally move to the forests around Ringwood and Wareham. The opening loop of the day consisted of four stages, including the popular stage around the grounds of Somerley House. Burton and Rogerson set consistently fast times, moving up to second overall behind the Hyundai Accent WRC of Poole's Marcus Dodd.
"The Friday night stage didn't really suit the car so we were pleased just to get through," said Rogerson.
"Our only problem on the opening stages on Saturday was that we were hitting the rev limiter in top gear on the straights so we lost a bit of time there, an extra gear would've been useful!"
After a service halt the rally headed west for four stages near Wareham. Burton and Rogerson maintained their second place with a series of good times, including being fastest on one stage.
The event concluded with three more stages in Ringwood and Somerley, the Peugeot Cosworth crew ending up 43 seconds behind Dodd in second place.
"Realistically beating Marcus on his local event was always going to be very difficult so we're delighted to get second place," Rogerson continued.
"We had problems with the manifold on the last two stages but fortunately the car got to the finish. It's a good start to the championship."
Rogerson will be out on the stages again next weekend when she contests the Malcolm Wilson Rally with David Wright in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9. The rally takes place on the gravel tracks of Whinlatter, Greystoke and Grizedale forests in the Lake District.
