Perera spent four years racing for the Prema team in junior championships before graduating to higher-level competition. His early career encompassed Formula Renault categories in both Italy and Germany as well as the Formula Three Euroseries, giving him a broad grounding in European junior motorsport.
Perera made his GP2 Series debut in 2006 with the DAMS team. In 2007 he switched to North American competition, driving for Condor Motorsports in the Atlantic Championship. He won three races that season and finished second in the championship behind Raphael Matos, establishing himself as one of the stronger drivers in that series.
On 6 February 2008 Perera announced he had signed with Conquest Racing for the Champ Car World Series, following a successful test. Shortly afterward the Champ Car and Indy Racing League unified, canceling the Champ Car season. Perera modified his deal to compete with Conquest in the IRL IndyCar Series instead. He competed in three IndyCar races before losing the ride due to funding problems stemming from the bankruptcy of his sponsor Opes Prime, which also caused the team to hire Brazilian driver Jaime Camara as replacement.
To continue racing in the United States during the remainder of 2008, Perera signed with Guthrie Racing for Firestone Indy Lights, joining the series for the seventh round at Iowa Speedway. He captured his first Indy Lights victory from pole position at Infineon Raceway in his eighth series start. He returned to the IndyCar Series for the points-scoring finale at Chicagoland Speedway, driving the No. 41 car for A.J. Foyt Enterprises.
Perera returned to the GP2 Series in 2009, replacing Giacomo Ricci at David Price Racing. The season was complicated: he was not permitted to start the feature race at the Hungarian round after causing an avoidable accident in qualifying involving Romain Grosjean, and his lap time placed him outside 107% of Lucas di Grassi's pole time, leading the stewards to refuse his race start. He also failed to qualify for both races at Spa-Francorchamps and left the GP2 Series after that round.
In Superleague Formula, Perera drove the A.S. Roma entry in 2008 and made a return appearance in 2009 at the Estoril round, taking over from Jonathan Kennard before being replaced at the subsequent round by Julien Jousse.
Perera built a sustained professional career in GT racing after his open-wheel years. He returned to full-time competition in 2013, racing a Porsche 911 in the Blancpain Endurance Series for Pro GT by Almeras in the Pro-Am class. He subsequently established himself as a leading GT driver, eventually earning status as a factory driver for Lamborghini Squadra Corse. His GT career encompassed the GT World Challenge Europe, the European Le Mans Series, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, the ADAC GT Masters, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and the FIA World Endurance Championship, including multiple appearances at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
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