Chesterfield’s race ace Seb Perez finished a fantastic second place in the Rally Sol de Ponent on the island of Mallorca Spain last weekend, missing out on first spot by only five seconds.

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 tarmac roads, they took part in the Rally Dijious Bo, also on Mallorca, in November last year that saw them finish in 7^th place also in the Porsche.

Over the past three years of competing in Rally Sol de Ponent, Perez’s performance has improved that saw him in 2018 finish 11^th with his father Steve finishing 6^th and last year Seb took a well-earned 4^th slot.

This year the pair were on it from the start, they were determined to make their mark on the entry of 49 cars and one of only two British crews to enter that saw them finish second or third on the opening six stages and powered the Porsche to gain fastest times on stages seven, nine and ten as they tried to track down the winning team of Alberto Frau and Tomeu Mas in a Mini Rallye R56.

Next up on the calendar for Seb and Gary is the XVI Rally Clasico Isla Mallorca, which takes place over three days from 12-14 March, where their challenge will be for an overall victory, once again in the Porsche.

After the rally Perez commented: “It was really good fun. We were a bit fortunate in that the first couple of stages were in our favour, being in a wide car against narrower and more modern rivals. That got us up into the mix and then we had a bit of a loss for the first few afternoon stages due to them being very tight and twisty.”

“The last stages were a bit of a mix so we could use the power of the Porsche on the open sections. We had a great battle until the end, with just five seconds between ourselves and Alberto and Tomeu in their Mini. We were swapping stage times throughout the day and it was an incredibly close finish.”

“The third to last stage was in favour of Alberto so he took six seconds off me and I gave it everything for the last two. We took six seconds back on the final stage, though it wasn’t quite enough. But it was good fun and this rally was more of a test for the Classic in a few weeks’ time, so we’re ready for that.”

“The top class for the Classic is all three-litre cars like mine, which means we’ll all lose time in the same places, so it will be closer throughout the event. I finished third there in 2018 and second last year, so this time I’ve only got one option!”

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 5^th 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.

Steve Perez is Chairman of Chesterfield based drinks brand development business Global Brands Ltd, father to Seb Perez and owner of Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beer and Kick Energy Drink Brands, 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.

Councillors have agreed a small increase in the amount residents pay in council tax to Chesterfield Borough Council as the council continues to face cuts in funding from the Government.

Since 2015, the council has lost £1.9 million each year in funding from the Government and faces a further cut of £440,000 in the next financial year.

Although the council has seen increased business rate revenue as a result of the work we have carried out to support business growth, improved income performance at key facilities such as the Pomegranate and Winding Wheel Theatres and increasing income from renting out office space at the Town Hall, it has been necessary to increase the amount that the majority of residents pay in council tax to Chesterfield Borough Council by an amount that equates to six pence per week.

Most households in Chesterfield borough live in band A properties and will see the amount they pay for Chesterfield Borough Council services increase from £109.93 to £113.26 from April; households living in band D properties will see an increase from £164.89 to £169.89.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s leader, said: “Increasing council tax by any amount is not an easy decision to make and we do understand the impact this can have on local people. But given the continued under-funding and austerity measures by Government, we really have no other option if we are going to continue to provide the facilities and services that so many of our residents rely on and of the quality that our residents and businesses have a right to expect.

“Chesterfield Borough Council provides more than 50 different services for residents, including emptying your bins, keeping our streets clean, providing award-winning parks and open spaces, operating sports and cultural venues and making sure that people’s health and wellbeing is protected through our food safety and licensing activities.

“The majority of households will receive all of these services for 2020/21 for just £2.17 per week, which I believe represents good value for money.”

Although Chesterfield Borough Council collects council tax, the council keeps only 10 per cent of the money collected. The remainder goes to:

• 74 per cent going to Derbyshire County Council to fund services including education, highways, libraries, children’s services and adult social care
• 12 per cent goes to Derbyshire Police
• The remaining four per cent goes to Derbyshire Fire and Rescue.

Residents in Brimington will also pay council tax to Brimington Parish Council and residents in Staveley will also pay council tax to Staveley Town Council.

Chesterfield Borough Council has no control over the increases in council tax made by other authorities.