Steve Perez's hopes of a top result on the Ypres Historic Rally ended with a high speed crash on the seventh stage.
Chesterfield driver Perez and Ulster co-driver Stephen McAuley made a steady start to the rally in their Kick Energy Lancia Stratos and were 22nd after Friday's opening stages, before making progress on Saturday morning.
Their rally would end abruptly though for the pair when at over 100mph a suspected broken wheel caused their iconic car to veer off the road and hit a bank. Both escaped with just bruising.
“I think I clipped a bank on the previous corner which must have broken the wheel as I lost control as soon as I hit the brakes,” said Perez.
“It was a big crash and the car held up well but it means no points for us in the Gentlemen’s World Rally Class (G-WRC) and there’s a huge amount of work to do before next month’s Midnight Sun Rally.”
