STEVE Perez and the ‘Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beer’ Lancia Stratos scored one of the best results to date for this fabulous car with eighth place overall on the Roger Albert Clark Rally.

Chesterfield-based Perez and his hugely experienced co-driver John Millington took the outstanding result after a typically tough two and a half days of rallying on what is one of the most challenging and popular rallies on the UK calendar.

When the rally finished in Sunderland late on Sunday afternoon, the Stratos was a superb eighth overall in a top quality field. Perez and Millington were just 22 seconds away from a top six finish after more than three hours of competitive driving.

“I’m really pleased!” said Perez at the finish. “It’s fantastic to have four non-Ford Escorts in the top 10 of this rally. We’ve had top 10 finishes on this event before but that was mainly because other people had problems.

But this year a lot of top competitors stayed in and on the last three stages we were setting top five stage times.”

Throughout the rally the Stratos set a string of top ten times and fourth fastest overall on the Ogre Hill stage was a stand-out performance.

The annual rally started with a demanding leg on Friday evening when thick fog in Hamsterley Forest handed crews a daunting challenge as they all struggled to see the road.

Conditions improved on Saturday as the cars competed over 90 stage miles in the forests of Northumberland and then the rally wrapped up with another 60 competitive forest miles on Sunday.

“We’ve been sorting the engine out and sorting the handling out and we’ve now got the handling absolutely spot on and I’m so pleased because the guys have worked so hard to get the car ready,” said Perez.

“We had problems on Saturday with a misfire and it stopped going into the second Hamsterley stage. Fortunately, the guys from Dansport sorted it out and got us going again. It was an electrical problem, that developed and the guys fixed it completely.

“I’m really looking forward to the British Historic Rally Championship next season.” said Perez. “I’m confident that we can have a shot at the title and please all the crowds!”

For more details about Steve Perez and the Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beer Lancia Stratos, please visit www.steveperez.co.uk or go to www.facebook.com/steve.perezrallying For more information on the company and its products, including Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beer, please visit www.globalbrands.co.uk