Perez races in for Mallorcan success
MOTOR SPORT PAUL HORTON
MACCLESFIELD race and rally driver Seb Perez proclaimed himself champion taking number one slot on the XVI Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca in Spain.
The 20 year old racer took to the wheel of his classic Dansport-prepared Amigos Tequila Beer 1974 Porsche 911 RS, with navigator Gary McElhinney by his side.
The dynamic British/ Irish duo are no stranger to the Spanish red hot tarmac roads, they took part in the Rally Sol de Ponent, also on Mallorca Island, three weeks ago that saw them finish in second place also in the Porsche.
The rally had been shortened and came to an end one day earlier than expected due to the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus Virus) situation with the aim of preventing and guaranteeing the safety of the Mallorcan society, the participating teams and of all the personnel working in the organization of the competition.
Over 40 classic rally machines lined the front at Almira Capital Puerto Portals, as one of the most important motor tests in Europe took place, bringing together great national and international drivers to the Balearic island, and each year it consolidates as one of the most prestigious international sports events on the motor sport calendar
Course Car for the rally was a classic BMW M3 E30 driven by British band Jamiroquai’s front man and song writer Jason “Jay” Kay.
The tarmac rally of more than 300 kilometres and 8 test sections saw Perez rubbing shoulders with great racing aces such as the Austrian champion of classics and current champion of the event, Kris Rosenberger, as well as Spanish Galiana, Tacho and former Formula 1 driver, Adrián Campos.
Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca is no stranger to the Perez family, in 2019 Seb and Gary finished 2nd and in 2018 both Father Steve and Seb took over the podium finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the rallies history Perez junior has had 1 win, 3 podiums, 9 stage wins and led the rally stages 11 times.
The first day of the 2020 test started with the “Estallencs - Andratx” stage, which Perez led and was fastest by 21 seconds over second car on the road and maintained the leadership at the end of the second and last section of the “Andratx-Capdellà” test.
After winning the two night stages the British pilots had an advantage of more than 30 seconds in their classic Carrera RS.
Day two, the final day of the sixteenth edition of the Classic Rally saw Perez master and win three out of four new stages in which to measure the skills and abilities behind the wheel, on roads as spectacular as the legendary stage of Sa Calobra, with a meandering slope of 12 kilometres, and its famous 360 degree “tie knot” curve.
Perez and McElhinney dominated the rally leading and sweeping the road throughout from start to finish winning six out of the eight stages leaving the 29 finishers in the dust behind.
The German teams consisting of Oberdorster / Oberdorster and Becker / Hochweller completed the podium
After the rally Perez commented: “It was a top class win, after being on the podium for the last two years taking a third in 2018 and second last year this has made our and the teams weekend.
“The car ran faultlessly from start to finish with a big thanks to Gary at the side of me keeping me on the road and the Dansport Team for the usual first class support”
Rallying and Motorsport is not new to the family, Perez junior started competing in the Kick Energy Junior 1000 Rally Championship at the wheel of a Nissan Micra rally car back in 2013 before moving to circuit racing a year later progressing through the ranks from a successful Ginetta Junior into Ginetta GT4 and GT5 cars.
His last two seasons have taken him into the prestige Porsche Carrera Cup GB that saw him take the Pro Am title in 2018 and finish 2019 in 5th place in the Pro driver classification.
In between his circuit racing career he has taken part in numerous British and European rallies including in December a fourth overall in the Ford World Rally Team M Sport Ford Fiesta R5 Mk2 on its debut gravel rally in the UK and was a test of what it will do on future World Rally Championship events.
Perez will be circuit racing this season in the European GT4 Championship in an Aston Martin as well as taking on some more rallies