Successful weekend for Seb Perez with Ford Word Rally Team
Chesterfield’s own Porsche Carrera Cup GB racer, Seb Perez, swapped race circuit to forest rack when he tackled the rugged Grizledale Stages Rally in the Lake District.
The 20-year-old Chesterfield racer finished 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 proved his versatility in the brand-new machine developed by renown rally driver Malcolm Wilson’s M Sport team at their base in Cockermouth, alongside Perez was co-driver Alex Lee
With only one days testing under his belt in the rally supercar Perez proved competitive throughout the rally, finishing in the top-five overall for stages one, two, and three.
Unfortunately, Seb suffered two punctures in the final two stages, but battled on costing him time, in the Franklin & Sons-livered Fiesta, finishing a very respectable fourth overall on his debut in the car.
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 this season in 5th place in the Pro driver classification.
Dad Steve Perez, Chairman of Chesterfield based drinks brand development business Global Brands Ltd and owner of Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beer and Kick Energy Drink Brands and has rallied M Sport Ford’s for a number of years that saw him become four times British National Rally Champion and 2014 BTRDA Gold Star Rally Champion too.
Only a few weeks ago the Multi-talented Perez junior capped his busy Porsche year of competition as he claimed a class victory and seventh overall in the Rally Dijious Bo in Mallorca in his Amigos-liveried 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS.
After Grizedale, Seb Perez commented: “There was a lot to learn from the day. The test before was very helpful but you gain the most experience at the event itself, so while the test was helpful, I learned so much from the rally itself.”
“Grizedale is tight and twisty, all over crests, so it is one of the most technical rallies in the country, but that is perfect as it gives you that chance to learn every aspect of the car. The handling of the nimble R5 compared to a WRC car was in our favour.”
“We were getting faster through each stage, and we were on what felt like would have been an incredible final stage, but had a puncture and had to trundle through around seven miles which killed us. We had a puncture on the stage before too, but that was a shorter one which didn’t affect us as much.”
“Prior to that though I was building confidence in the car and myself. On an event like that which was wet, horrible, and slippery, it would have been easy to go too hard too soon, get stick in a ditch, and be done for the day, so it was about going faster and faster. It was a shame we couldn’t improve our pace on the final stage, but that is rallying and the way it goes sometimes.”
Seb added: “It was an incredible experience and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a great little event, and I have to say a big thank you to M-Sport for giving me the opportunity and Alex for co-driving with me.”
Perez will be back in action in the New Year in very different circumstances as he returns to Mallorca for two rallies in his 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS.
Editorial by Paul Horton / Images by Paul Lawrence
