Perez celebrates season’s first podium place

MOTOR SPORT PAUL HORTON

KINGS School race ace Seb Perez, 16, claimed his first win and podium place of the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship at Knockhill Circuit in Scotland at the weekend.

The championship saw three rounds of bumper to bumper action from the junior racer, son of Steve Perez , 2014 BTRDA Gold Star Rally Champion.

Perez, right, was second fastest in qualifying, just 0.053 seconds behind team mate Seb Priaulx, putting him on the front row for his first race.

Perez made a perfect start that saw him take the lead and he was outshining the rest of the pack of 17 cars, heading the 12-lap race from start to finish and at one stage the Ginetta G40 was some six seconds ahead of second car.

He took the chequered flag some 4.570 seconds ahead of Douglas Motorsports Stuart Middleton.

A jubilant Perez said: “I had a fantastic start off the line, it was an awesome race from lights to flag.”

Race two saw Perez and Middleton line up side by side on another front row position.

Both cars kept their same positions as they left the line but both were deemed to have made false starts off the line and given drive trough penalties, causing Perez to drop down to 14th position by lap six out of 12 and 11th at the end of the race.

After the race there were a number of changes to the positions and a judge of fact stewards report saw Perez’s false start applied during the race to be found incorrect.

Robbed of a possible top five or even better a second podium finish, this put Perez in eighth place on fourth row for race three after the reverse grid draw.

Perez finished race three 11th, missing out on a top 10 place by 1.6 seconds, pipped at the flag

He said: “After race one it was frustrating for me, we should have had at least two or even three podiums.

“It was such a shame but we’ll be coming back stronger at Rockingham in two weeks and looking for further podiums.”

Perez left Knockhill in 12th position gaining another place in the championship with 178 points and team JHR Developments still third in the championship with 677 points