STEVE Perez defied difficult conditions to record his first ever finish on the Roush Manx Rally - thanks to new co-driver Daniel Barritt.

On only their second event together, the Hapton-based navigator guided Perez, a relative novice on tarmac, into an excellent sixth place.

The pair overcame dismal - and potentially dangerous - conditions on the narrow island roads to move into third overall in the hotly-contested ANCRO Rally Championship.

"I'm happy to bring the car home in my first real tarmac rally in a four-wheel-drive car," said Perez, who drives an ex-Carlos Sainz Ford Focus WRC.

"It's certainly a lot faster than I have been round here before, and the result has given us vital points in the championship race."

For the experienced Barritt, the reigning SCCA American Pro-Rally champion navigator, getting his driver to the finish with the car in one piece was the prime objective.

He said: "Steve hasn't got a great deal on confidence on tarmac, so we got David Higgins, who I co-drove for last year, to sit in and give him a few tips.

"Once he had sat alongside David and saw what the Focus was capable of in terms of grip and outright speed, it helped him a great deal.

"Before the event started we targeted Paul Bird, who has a very similar car, as the man to try and match with stage times.

"In the end, we finished only three minutes behind him and comfortably ahead of former ANCRO champion Marcus Dodd and tarmac expert Melvyn Evans."

The pair have a busy schedule in the next four weeks, starting with this weekend's International Rally of Wales, followed by the Mutiny competition, and then the Scottish International and Dukeries rallies.