Former ANCRO champion Steve Perez was left rueing his luck as the changeable weather conditions hampered his bid for honours when round four of the 2009 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship took place with the Manx Telecom Rally.

Driving the Kick Energy-sponsored Ford Focus WRC07, along with replacement co-driver Stephen McAuley, the Chesterfield driver fell foul of a number of incorrect tyre choices but despite this, he managed to claim fifth position overall to record his best result on the Isle of Man to date.

As well as the tyre issues, Perez suffered from a gear selection problem late on but held on to claim an important third place in the ANCRO standings to maintain his championship bid.

"Whatever tyres I chose always seemed to be the wrong ones as it would either be drier than we were expecting or else it would start raining on the way into the stages! It was a little frustrating but I'm happy enough with the result, the only downer being that because Paul Bird won, I am in for an expensive night!" said Steve.

The result sees Perez move up to sixth place in the championship standings and despite missing the next round of the series which clashes with his annual outing in Rally Barbados, he is still well placed going into the second half of the season.

Manx Telecom Rally Results

1 Paul Bird/Ian Windress (Ford Focus WRC 07) 1:27:59.5
2 Melvyn Evans/Sean Mullally (Subaru Impreza WRC S11) 1:28:56.4
3 Roger Duckworth/Mark Broomfield (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1:29:29.3
4 Marcus Dodd/Andrew Bargery (Hyundai Accent WRC) 1:29:36.1
5 Steve Perez/Stephen McAuley (Ford Focus 07 WRC) 1:31:36.1
6 George Collister/Janet Craine (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 3) 1:33:43.6
7 David Mann/Alun Cook (Subaru Impreza) 1:34:05.4
8 Daniel Barry/Martin Brady (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1:34:54.6
9 Wayne Sisson/Daniel Stone (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1:35:20.4
10 Nik Elsmore/Craig Drew (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 1:36:04.4

Provisional 2009 Pirelli MSA Gravel Rally Championship Standings after Round 4

1 Daniel Barry 78
2 Simon Hughes 74
3 Marcus Dodd 73
4 Paul Bird 68
5 Nik Elsmore 67
6 Steve Perez 63
7= Alan Cookson 47
7= Owen Murphy 47
9 Alan Carmichael 43
10 Sean Devine 25