Perez Duo Delighted with Spanish Rally Results

Seb, aged 26, secured an overall fifth-place finish and was the runner-up in the Category 2 class at the FIA European Historic Rally Championship (EHRC) event. His father, Steve, achieved a commendable fifteenth place overall and finished fourth in Class 3—an impressive result in his first competitive rally after more than twelve months away from the sport.

Competitors faced a gruelling two days of fast Spanish tarmac roads comprising of 11 special stages and a total of 87 stage miles to contend with.

Perez was out in the FIA European Historic Rally Finland winning Amigos Tequila Beer-sponsored Porsche Carrera RS from a couple of months ago, joined by local co-driver Dale Bowen sporting the #7. Steve Perez took to the wheel of the #17 Franklin and Sons sponsored Ford Escort RS1800 Mk2, his co pilot for the weekend Claire Mole.

Both cars were looked after by Chesterfield based rally car experts Dansport, who did an amazing job to keep both cars on the road.

Perez, the British Historic Rally Champion of 2024, demonstrated a disciplined and strategic performance over the course of the two days. Steve demonstrated strong performance and returned to his role that he loves, where he is well-suited.

After the Thursday evening Ceremonial Start at Plaza Conde Guadalhorce, Pravia both were ready for an afternoon and early evening in darkness of four special stages on Friday.

SS1 Hotel Ray Silo 1 was a 8.078-mile dash on tarmac fast countryside roads. Seb blasted through the stage to take fourth fastest with a time of 8m:53.7secs around 34 seconds adrift off top spot. Steve encountered the stage in 17th place, getting used to the car and the roads again.

Darkness fell on SS3 Hotel Ray Silo 2, a rerun of earlier, Seb and Dale were quicker by nearly 10 seconds than the first run and Steve were up to 16th place as well.

SS4 Puerta De Occidente 2 finished the first leg of the event off, Seb was slower and back into 6th place on stage, Steve and Claire had made up another place into 15th spot and 3rd in class.

At the conclusion of the first leg, Seb was positioned fourth overall in the rally, while Steve occupied the sixteenth place.

The competition commenced early on Saturday morning as the team undertook the 8 mile SS5 Angones 1 stage. Finland’s WRC driver Jari-Matti Latvala, alongside co-driver Janni Hussi in their Toyota Celica 4WD Turbo (ST185), established a commanding lead. Nevertheless, Seb and Dale remained focused, delivering another strong performance to secure fourth place on the stage with a time of 8m:21.2secs, trailing Latvala by 17 seconds. Steve concluded the stage in 16th position. Seb was up one place overall and into third.

During SS6 Pravia 1, Seb experienced a spin in the Porsche, resulting in minor rear-end damage. Consequently, he dropped to 12th position on stage and 5th on the leaderboard. Steve continued to perform consistently, maintaining control of the Escort and holding 16th overall, while remaining 4th in his class.

As the day progressed, Seb demonstrated determination and recovered strongly from the earlier setback. By SS8 Angones 2, he had advanced to fifth overall and second in his class. Both competitors continued to perform at a high level, with his father maintaining a commendable 16th place overall while securing fourth position in class.

Last stage of the day was SS 11 Pravia 3, longest stage of the event of 14.515km, Seb finished the stage in sixth place and Steve 15th.

By the time both pairs had arrived at the Parc Fermé, Parque Sabino Moutas, Pravia to end leg two and the end of the rally, Seb had finished the event in 5th place overall with Dad in 15th.

Both teams had a great weekend in Spain, they both finished high in their respective classes, Seb taking second in category 2 and Steve finishing up in 4th place in Category 3.

Afterwards Seb said “It was a good weekend, and we were in the mix with the top 3, the big spin saw us loose 30 seconds which was a shame. It was a nice rally with some amazing roads, Dad had a good weekend getting back at it, he did well”.

Perez is now focusing his efforts on preparing for the Roger Albert Clark Rally 2025, where he'll be competing in the iconic Lancia Stratos HF during the five-day marathon through the forests of Wales, England, and Scotland from Thursday, 20th November to Monday, 24th November. After leading the rally in 2023 but having to retire on the final stage, he hopes this time luck will be on his side.