DAVID PERELR A C I N G D R I V E R

It’s an often overused statement to describe a racing driver, but in my case it could not have been more true. Before I was capable of speak-ing I was already wearing my father's motorbike helmet while riding a classic plastic push bike around the house.

I have few memories of my early childhood, but what stands out most are the hours I’d spend staring at photos of my dad racing in the UK. At the time there was no doubt in my mind that I’d become a racing driver just like he once was.

It wasn’t until I was 15 years old that I’d get my first real opportunity to race. After years of begging my parents I was finally given a go-kart and entered into my first race. From that moment on my childhood dreams had been justified and over the coming years I’d go on to win many races against the country’s, and world’s, finest.

By time I was 23 I had reached my peak in karting and got a last minute o�er to compete in a new ‘single seater’ series called Formula VW. Strict rules meant no practice or testing was allowed. I seemed to take to it like a duck to water, however before the season hit the halfway mark I was forced to stop due to a lack of funds - a common occurrence in the world of racing.

Unable to find a solution I turned my attention to a web company my brother and I had co-founded in our late teens, called Obox, with the intention of saving up as much money as possible in order to make a comeback in my later years.

In order to maximise work time I moved the o�ce couch next to my desk and spent months tirelessly working and sleeping in the o�ce.

During that period we started a video blog called From the Couch which was unique for being the only daily video blog about technology. We built up a strong reputation in the industry and reached over 40,000 viewers a month with it.

As a result of From the Couch, business took o� and I was finally able to save up some money for a shot at racing.

Close to five years later of hard work, 48 hour days and an unwilling-ness to give up I finally reached a point where I could consider a return to racing. That being said there wasn’t exactly a red carpet laid out waiting for me, so I had to improvise.

There’s a popular saying in the motorsport world about a driver being born with a helmet on their head.

DAVID PEREL’S STORY

A young version of me, with my

helmet on, dreaming of racing

BORN

May 1985

LIVES

Cape Town

South Africa

OCCUPATION

Co-founder and CEO

of Obox Themes

While watching the Le Mans 24 hour race I downloaded a list of all the teams that entered the event and set about phoning, emailing and skyping each and every one in search of a race seat.

Of the 30+ teams I called, all said “No”, except one… RAM Racing. They gave me a rundown of the numbers required, but said that there was no space for me in their team, however as our conversation was ending they mentioned a European series called Lamborghini Super Trofeo.

That nugget of information eventually lead me to a team in Italy which ran two Lamborghini racing cars and it so happened that they had a seat available for a driver who was willing to pay for it.

After much negotiation I handed over my 5 years of savings and hopped on a plane to compete in the Italian GT Championship for Lamborghini and Team EuroTech. Given that I hadn’t raced at this level for a long time my expectations were low, but things went well and I was lucky enough to work with a very influential engineer - Gianfranco Bielli - who was impressed with my approach.

During our last night in Italy, while having dinner, Gianfranco asked me what I had planned for the future because, “we have a problem... you can become a professional racing driver.”

What followed has been a whirlwind of racing that I never anticipated occurring. From a European Championship event inMalaysia to race wins and podiums in Italy.

A successful season in the Italian GT Championship netted me second place and included more wins, pole positions and fastest laps than any other driver in the field.

My performance in his first ever European season led to an o�er from Kessel Racing Ferrari.

My 2016 season included competing in highly competitive the Blancpain GT Series, GT Open and Gulf 12 Hour.

Highlights included 3 wins, 5 front row starts and purple sectors at the Spa and Hungaroring Blancpain Events.

We ended on a high in 2016 when I helped Kessel Ferrari finish first in class and 5th overall in the Gulf 12 Hour in Abu Dhabi.

DAVID PEREL’S STORY

We have aproblem, you can

become aprofessional

racingdriver

“

KARTING HIGHLIGHTS

2000 Started Racing2007 1st South African Rotax Max Championship2007 6th Rotax Max Challenge World Finals2012 2nd African Rotax Max Championship

2015 GT RACING

Italian GT Championship Vice Champion9 Front Row Starts9 Podiums7 Wins5 Fastest Laps3 Pole Positions

DAVID PEREL.NET

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MEDIA ASSOCIATIONS

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COLLECTIVE EXPOSURE

7 million visitors per month

RACING HIGHLIGHTS

2016 HIGHLIGHTS

Silverstone 3 Hour Blancpain Endurance SeriesPole Position

Paul Ricard 6 Hour Blancpain Endurance SeriesPole Position

SPA 24 Hour Blancpain Endurance SeriesPurple Sector 1 & 3 Warm Up

Hungaroring Blancpain Sprint SeriesQualified 2nd3rd Place in Qualifying Race1st Place in Main RacePurple Sector 1 in Main Race

GT Open Final1st Place in Main RaceQualified 2nd

Gulf 12 Hour1st Place in Main RaceQualified 2nd

2016 GT RACING (AM)

5 Front Row Starts4 Podiums3 Wins2 Pole Positions3 Fastest Sectors

THANK YOUDAVID@DAVIDPEREL.NETWWW.DAVIDPEREL.NET