Shelley happy with Woodpecker podium finish

Lancaster rally co-driver Shelley Rogerson enjoyed a good finish on last Saturday’s Woodpecker Stages rally when she took third place overall with Andrew Burton in his Peugeot Cosworth.

The Ludlow-based event kicked off with two forest stages to the east of the town. Burton and Rogerson stormed through the opening test setting quickest time but oil pressure problems in the second stage saw the car engine cut out losing the crew time and dropping them down the order to 12th.

The problem occurred again in the third stage with more time lost trying to restart the car. However, they were still quick enough to move up to ninth on the overall leaderboard.

A troublefree run on the fourth stage saw Burton and Rogerson set quickest time, moving them up to fourth.

“The problems in the second and third stages were very frustrating, the engine cut out and it was difficult to get it restarted with it being hot,” said Shelley.

The remaining three stages of the event took place near Ludlow and a charging Burton took two more fastest times to end up third overall at the rally finish.

“The last three stages were brilliant, really quick. We’re pleased to have got to the finish after our recent run of bad luck although it’s a bit disappointing that we couldn’t challenge for the win after our early problems. I’d like to thank Co-ordSport, Nicky Grist and Songasport for their support.”

After their successful Woodpecker outing Burton and Rogerson are planning to contest the Cambrian rally in North Wales in October. For more information on Shelley’s rallying please visit www.shelleyrally.com.

Wright stays in championship hunt on Woodpecker Stages rally

Bentham’s David Wright continued his successful 2009 rally season last Saturday (5th September) when he took fourth place on the Woodpecker Stages rally in his Giles Philips Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo 9, keeping up his hopes of taking the BTRDA rally championship title.

Grove Hill Garage and Kumho Tyres-backed Wright and co-driver Michael Wilkinson made a good start on the opening two tests of the rally near Ludlow, taking fourth place overall. The event then moved to Radnor forest and Wright emerged from the 18 miles of gravel tracks in third place.

“I was happy to be in third after Radnor. We had some problems with the flatshift gearbox in the opening stages which lost us some time and then a few more seconds were lost when we had a slight excursion off the road in stage two” said Wright.

The rally returned to near Ludlow for the remaining three stages. Wright maintained his third position until the final stage when a charging Andrew Burton pipped him for the position.

“I enjoyed the last three stages, we pushed as hard as we could but we couldn’t keep Burton behind us. I am pleased with the result and it’s down to the last round for the title although we’re now suffering with the dropped scores system. We’ll be making some more improvements to the car in time for the next event and we’ll be trying hard to get the win.”

The final round of the BTRDA championship takes place in October with the Cambrian rally in North Wales.

Images from the Woodpecker Stages

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Sweet Lamb set for Britpart B.C.C.C.

After a summer break the Britpart British Cross Country Championship gets back underway on the weekend of 12/13 September with round four being held at the Sweet Lamb rally complex near Llangurig in Wales.

Regulations for the event can be downloaded from www.marches4x4.com.

Wright targets maximum points on Woodpecker Stages rally

Bentham rally driver David Wright will continue his BTRDA rally championship quest next Saturday (5th September) when he contests the Woodpecker Stages event in his Giles Philips Motorsport Mitsubishi Evo 9.

Wright, who is backed by Grove Hill Garage and Kumho Tyres, presently leads the championship but with the title being decided on the best six scores from eight he needs to ideally get maximum points on the Ludlow-based event.

“We’re in a decent position in the championship at the moment but we’re going to have to beat Will Nicholls on the last two rounds to have a chance of the title as he’s already had two retirements this year so he won’t be dropping any more points, ” said Wright.

“It’s going to be very tough with Will being in a World Rally Car but we’ll give it our best. Our car has had a new engine fitted since the last round and it has given us some extra torque so hopefully we’ll have a bit more pace.”

“I’ve not done the Woodpecker before so the stages will be new to me. There won’t be any time to get used to them though, it’s going to have to be flat out from the start!”

The rally is round 7 of the 2009 BTRDA championship and it will be contested over 45 miles of gravel tracks in forests to the west of Ludlow.