Kick Energy rally driver Steve Perez finished second on the Plains Rally after a bad tyre choice in the first stage of the day lost him valuable time.

Perez from Chesterfield and Welsh co-driver Paul Spooner were contesting the fourth round of the Silverstone Tyres Gold Star BTRDA Rally Series in their ex-Marcus Gronholm Ford Focus World Rally Car, they dropped 21 seconds on the first stage of the day, Gartheiniog 1, when a poor tyre choice left them struggling for grip. However, Perez was not going to let rival Andy Burton disappear into the distance, a concerted effort on the next stage saw him claw back a couple of seconds and take the stage win.

The remaining stages saw Perez and Burton in a nip and tuck battle with Perez taking a further two stage wins. Unable to make up the time lost, Perez claimed the second step on the podium and collected valuable points in the Silverstone Tyres Gold Star BTRDA Rally Series.

"In a way I am disappointed that I didn't win but with the problem in Gartheiniog we just lost too much time, which was unfortunate because on all the remaining stages we were just about a second apart." said Perez.

Steve continued "I can't take anything away from Andy Burton, he put in a storming time on the first stage and the points I've got for coming second keep the Championship race alive, the car ran faultlessly and I can't wait for the next round."

Results1, Andrew Burton/Robin Kellard - Peugeot Cosworth - 0:42:39s2, Steve Perez/Paul Spooner - Ford Focus WRC07 - 0:43:04s3, David Wright/Michael Wilkinson - Mitsubishi Evo 9 - 0:44:11s4, Roger Chilman Jnr/Andrew Sankey - Subaru Impreza N12 - 0:44:26s5, Shaun Gardener/Ben Innes - Mitsubishi Evo - 0:44:38s6, Tom Cave/Shaun O'Gorman - Proton Satria Neo S2000 - 0:44:41s7, Tom Naughton/Horace Saville - Mitsubishi Evo IX - 0:45m:20s8, Alex Allingham/Mark Glennerster - Subaru Impreza - 0:45m:42s9, Ieuan Rowlands/Emyr Hall - Ford Escort - 0:45m:55s10, Paul Davy/Roger Allan - Subaru Impreza - 0:46m:12s