Today is the 51st birthday of former Minardi pilot Luis Perez Sala!
Perez Sala share a little piece of Minardi history, where in 1989 he was one half of the driving pair that achieved a points finish for the little team at the British Grand Prix, finishing sixth behind team-mate Pierluigi Martini. Indeed, it was the first – and only (unless you count the farcical 2005 United States GP – time where both Minardis finished together in the points on merit.
Runner-up to Stefano Modena in the 1987 Formula 3000 championship, Perez Sala graduated to Minardi in 1988 and immediately proved quicker than Adrian Campos, who was shown the door mid-season and replaced by Martini. For the remainder of 1988 and the whole of 1989, he was Martini’s team-mate, although very much in the Italian’s shadow with respect to pace and results.
He left F1 at the end of the 1989 season and went to contest the Spanish Touring Car championship.
Richard Bailey
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