Kick Energy rally driver Steve Perez overcame a time consuming electrical problem to claim a respectable result on the three-day Rallye Clasico Isla Mallorca held on the popular Balearic Isle.
The three times British and National Champion from Chesterfield was at the wheel of his iconic 1974 Lancia Stratos and hoping for a good result following on from the disappointment of retirement on last month's Legend Boucles de Spa but a problem with the fuel pump on only the second stage saw him and co-driver Carl Williamson drop 15 minutes.
With changeable spring weather prevailing, Perez used his wet weather experience gained in the UK to the utmost and started charging back up the leaderboard which he did with a number of impressive stage times as some of his rivals crashed out on the treacherous roads that link the towns of Pollenca and Andratx on the west of the Spanish island.
With a final push which included setting top three times on the final two stages, Perez brought the BTR-prepared car home in 24th position overall, just over 20 minutes down on winners, Germans Stefan Oberdorster and Olaf Heupel in their Porsche 911 but once the time loss early on in the event was considered, it would have meant a top six placing for the reigning BTRDA Champion had he not suffered the problem.
More importantly for Perez, he racked up a finish in the self-appointed G-WRC which he is contesting this season along with a handful of other drivers this year. Standing for 'Gentleman's World Rally Class', it's been hatched by Perez along with fellow competitors Andrew Siddall and Geoff Bell whereby they will all contest events such as Rally Barbados, Geko Ypres, the Midnight Sun, East African Safari Classic and culminating in the Roger Albert Clark Rally with the best placed driver winning a case of finest champagne, funded by the two losers!
Enjoying a short break after the rally, Perez commented from his hotel: "Whilst it was frustrating to lose so much time on the second stage with the fuel pump problem which effectively put us out of contention, I was determined to try to claw as much time back as possible and I'm pleased with my result in the end. The wet weather helped as we are running the car in gravel trim and I've a lot of experience in slippery conditions but a lot of the locals were going off. It's a bit intimidating when you see some of those huge drops but the car ran faultlessly so thanks to the BTR team for doing a great job."
He continued: "Probably more importantly, it was a finish in the G-WRC and although Andrew Siddall and Geoff Bell beat me on this occasion, I'm hoping to reverse the result when we resume battle in Barbados as I don't plan on buying the champagne later in the year!"
It's back to domestic action next for both Perez and the Lancia Stratos when he contests the Dunlop/WONAGO MSA British Historic Championship round on the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales which takes place on Saturday April 2nd.
Perez's plans are for a selected number of events which will see him competing on a number of foreign events in 2011. Visits to Barbados, Ypres, Flanders and the Midnight Sun Rally will be highlighted with another attempt at the East African Safari Classic Rally in November whereas plans for the UK include the Bulldog International Rally of North Wales and the Pirelli International Rally, followed by the McRae Stages and then the season-ending Roger Albert Clark Rally in December.
