Perez all geared up for Brands Hatch
17 year old Chesterfield motor racing ace Seb Perez is in gear for his first race of the season this weekend at Brands Hatch in the Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship.
Out of the three official test sessions at Brands Hatch just over a week ago he got into the top 5 in official testing out of the 16 drivers present, where he showed strong pace and fighting spirit in his first test session of the new 2017 season Ginetta GT4 SuperCup.
With a brand new car and championship ahead of him this season Perez lapped the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch in 47.859 seconds and a top speed of 105.3mph and completing some 71 laps of the 1.2079 mile circuit.
Driving for his old team this season again, JHR Developments Perez continues his relationship with them and has taken a step forward in his motor racing career, he has moved to the more powerful Ginetta G55 race car and the GT4 Supercup Championship.
The new car and championship will be a learning curve for Perez, the car is bigger and more powerful and an even more challenging championship.
For the past two seasons Perez has competed in the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship, Seb’s first full season in a Ginetta G40 race car back in 2015 saw him get top ten finishes at Croft and Snetterton, part of eleven top 15 places for the season. He finished 20th in the final standings.
After 25 rounds of the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship in 2016, Perez finished the championship in 10th place with 339 points, taking his maiden pole position, a fastest race lap and four podiums, a first and three third places.
Perez made the transition from rallying to racing and following in petrol head Father’s motor sport footsteps at the end of 2014 where is raced a Ginetta at Brands Hatch in the final round of the series and part of a support race to the British Touring Car Championship.
He finished 18th and 16th for a first outing in a new car and totally different to driving through forests in a rally car.
Perez comments:-
“My last two seasons with Ginetta, have been fantastic.”
When asked about the new car and championship for 2017, he added:-
“I’ve learnt alot in the Ginetta G40 race car in Ginetta Juniors over the last two seasons and the circuits we have travelled too, so I’m hoping that experience will come in handy when it comes to picking up more podium positions in the new car.
“I’ve got a great team behind me with JHR Developments, and I’m really looking forward to getting back out on track.”
Motor sport is no stranger to Perez Jnr, son of 2014 BTRDA Gold Star Rally Champion Steve Perez, who has competed in the Kick Energy Junior 1000 Rally Championship at the wheel of a Nissan Micra rally car. The series is backed by Father Steve’s Global Brands business based in Chesterfield
The 17 year old is a student at Loughborough College, home of the UK’s Motor Sports Association Academy (MSA) studying Business, Sports Science and Motorsport Engineering.
Whilst Seb has been busy preparing for this weekend on circuit, Father Steve has been busy rallying in Spain in his 1974 Lancia Stratos HF rally car and has seen him finish 3rd on the Oris Rally Classic of Puerto Portals two weeks ago and last weekend finishing 6th on Rally Costa Brava.
Seb starts his attack this weekend at Brands Hatch with 3 races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday that’s live on TV in the 2017 Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship, a 23 round series ran over 8 race weekends and is a support race to the British Touring Car Championship.
The whole race season is televised live on the Sunday on ITV4.
He then races at local circuit Donington Park over the weekend of 15th and 16th April
All eyes with be on Seb in his challenge to become the next Ginetta GT4 Supercup Champion by the end of September 2017.
Editorial and Images by Paul Horton Motorsport Media and Photography
