High-speed crash interrupts Rally Carnival preparations
British
businessman and 2004 ANCRO National Rally Champion Steve Perez suffered
an upset to his preparations for the sixth Barbados Rally Carnival last
Friday (May 5) with a 100mph crash in his ex-works Ford Focus World
Rally Car during the RBS International Manx Rally on the Isle of Man.
Although
Perez and co-driver Scott Martin – on his first event in the car - were
both uninjured, the VK Vodka Kick Focus took a severe beating a mile
from the end of stage three, where a series of bumps caused Perez to
lose control; the car ended up hitting a bank, causing serious damage
to the front end. The onboard telemetry showed the impact happened at
160kph (100mph), meaning Perez and Martin were lucky to get away with a
shaking.
The news out of England is good for rally fans, however, as the
team is already at work on repairs and intends to have the car in
Barbados in time for International Scrutineering at McEnearney Quality
Inc on Friday, May 26. Tim Ashton, boss of BTR Preparations, the
renowned Yorkshire firm which looks after the car, reported Monday
morning: “We are definitely still coming, all being well with the 05
car repaired; its on the jig tomorrow, after which we will know more -
I think the chances are it will still be that car.”
While
his team set to work assessing the damage, Perez was looking back on
what he describes as “probably the biggest accident I have ever had. I
didn’t really do anything wrong and I don’t know what happened, I just
lost it over the bumps and the next thing was there was a big impact
which spun us around.
“I’m glad I had the HANS device on, otherwise who knows what state
my neck would have been in, but a sixth gear accident doesn’t bear
thinking about. I’d like to say that Scott was doing a fantastic job
for me and I was really impressed with his professionalism. There’s no
wonder he’s one of the top contenders in the British Rally Elite.”
Having won the British Historic Rally Championship in a Porsche 911
in 2003, Perez went on to win the ANCRO National Rally Championship at
his first attempt the following year in a Focus WRC. The low point of
2004, however, was his brief visit to the Caribbean, when his ex-Hannu
Mikkola Audi Quattro Sport was damaged early on the first day of Rally
Barbados.
Before
Friday’s accident, Perez was again leading what has since been renamed
the MSA National Gravel Championship, a series which regularly attracts
more than 20 World Rally Cars per event; after finishing second on
Rallye Sunseeker in February, he went on to place fourth in the Border
Counties Stages in March, moving into the joint lead with reigning
Scottish Champion Barry Johnson, who retired one stage before Perez
last Friday with gearbox problems on his Subaru Impreza WRC.
Provisionally, they now lie joint fifth.
The
Perez Focus will be the newest and most sophisticated ex-works World
Rally Car to have made the trip to the Caribbean; built by M Sport in
2004, the car won in Corsica and Catalunya that year in the hands of
Markko Martin. It was upgraded to 2005 spec for last season, during
which Roman Kresta and Henning Solberg each claimed a pair of top 10
finishes.
For Rally Barbados, as in 2004, Perez will have as co-driver the
experienced former RAC Privateer Champion Neil Dashfield, who has read
the notes on events as far afield as Barbados, Belgium, the Czech
Republic and Yugoslavia.
Local businesses supporting safety marshals.
All volunteer marshals working on Rally Barbados 2006 will be
wearing distinctive new T-shirts, thanks to the support of two local
businesses. With the words Motorsport Marshal emblazoned clearly on
front and back in capital letters, the T-shirts are bright orange, the
recognised colour for marshal apparel in most countries of the world.
The new T-shirts have been sponsored by Ford, through its local
dealer McEnearney Quality Inc, and J E Security Systems & Services
Inc. MQI director Mark Hamilton said: “Ford has enjoyed a successful
involvement in motor sport for many years, and this is one small way in
which the company can contribute to the running of the Caribbean’s
biggest motor sport event.”
Brett Barber, Director of Sales of the security firm, added: “We
are very pleased to be able to assist the Barbados Rally Club by
helping to fund the supply of these T-shirts. The marshals play an
important part, not only in the running of the event, but also in the
safety and security of competitors and the public alike, so it is an
ideal fit with our own business.”
Key dates for Barbados Rally Carnival 2006
Saturday, May 20 – scrutineering for local entries, McEnearney Quality, Wildey
Friday, May 26 – scrutineering for overseas entries, McEnearney Quality
Saturday, May 27 – Vaucluse Raceway International RallySprint, Vaucluse Raceway, St Thomas
Thursday, June 1 – Rally Barbados 2006 shakedown
Saturday, June 3 – Rally Barbados 2006, day 1
Sunday, June 4 – Rally Barbados 2006, day 2
Monday, June 5 – Rally Barbados 2006 prize-giving, The Boatyard
For further information, robin@bradfax.com - BRC web site: www.rallyclub.com
