Proton Satria Neo S2000 driver Alister McRae has been awarded second outright in the season ending IRC Rally of Scotland following the exclusion of the winning Peugeot piloted by Irishman Kris Meeke. Proton’s ex-driver Guy Wilks, who now drives a Skoda Fabia, has been declared the winner.
Scotsman McRae reveled in his appearance on home soil, just seven days after almost capturing a podium on the Rally of China in a similar Satria Neo S2000. He made it this time by finishing third, giving Proton its first ever podium in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Meeke, the 2009 IRC champion was faulted by the stewards for having a front subframe that is lighter than permitted.
McRae, a former British and Asia-Pacific champion who now lives in Perth, was delighted with the Mellors Elliott Motorsport Proton Satria Neo S2000 and says he now the wants to do more rallies in the car in 2010. “The Proton chassis is one of the best I have ever driven. We’re doing the full IRC next year. We are looking forward to coming back and fighting these guys again,” he said.
The Satria Neo S2000 was only homologated in October 2008. It made its debut on the IRC in June at the Belgium Ypres Rally and the car has quickly shown its potential.
Team principal Chris Mellors has confirmed that a full IRC campaign alongside an attack on the Asia Pacific series is already in preparation for 2010. He said that the team is looking at a four-car program for 2010 – two in the IRC and two in the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship.
The Satria’s 2.0-litre Super 2000 engine is derived from the 1.8 litre Renault engine fitted to the Waja and has been further developed by MEM to produce a reliable 278bhp at 7600rpm with a usable power band from 5,500 to 8,500rpm. It uses a six-speed sequential Xtrac 4WD gearbox, one of two control transmission systems allowed under FIA rules. For a more in-depth technical view see Paul’s earlier post.
cool… im first
congrats proton!!! (although only the emblem
…but other car maker also the same rite)
Great achievement!!!
But i wish they’d give the same engine to the cars here.
Saya mesti pilih~
good start for proton…
Nice~
hope can get more trophy in the future~
WRC maybe..huhuhu~
Congratulations Proton and MEM for the win. Hope for more wins next season. BTW, when is Proton/MEM going to develop a real grassroot/entry level rally neo in N2 or R1 class?
good job.. good job.. wish to see it again in future..
congratulation to proton and team……….
wao… ‘Proton chassis is one of the best I have ever driven’ …tats is awesome!!!
for me, it’s more than emblem…
go go proton…sob sob (terharu).
Danny Tan is related to Paul Tan? Why dont you introduce yourselves along with Harvinder Sidhu. We want to know more about you lah.
Paul,
Can you introduce them to us?
Congrats proton! I am a proud Satria Neo owner! yeeha!
Excellent;)
go go proton!!!
AKU BANGGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just wonder where have Karanjit Singh went… Last time they want to join WRC but due to lack of finance they drop off… But now Proton can support these world class driver. Yup, they might have bring Proton to the top with a 2.0L Renault engine in it.
But still without our Campro engine + Local driver… I felt like missing something… Hmm…
congrats.
“The Proton chassis is one of the best I have ever driven. We’re doing the full IRC next year. We are looking forward to coming back and fighting these guys again,” he said.
— SPEECHLESS…Handling by LOTUS..
but blind basher always deny it, especially P2 fanz..
Best chasis…………….DO U HEAR TAT BASHERS!!! Its not just the engine. I t works together wit the whole car
congrate PROTON! Malaysia Boleh..!
From finishing 3rd which already an achievement to 2nd due to disqualification by the winner. Still although not as quick as the 207 and Fabia s2000, the satria neo s2000 has good potential, perhaps fine tune the engine to bring the best of the car.
Still, congrats!
Btw is this from Danny Tan from autocar asean?
Wah wah, congratsss Proton!
I think the car still have some way to go, but credit to MEM for a brilliant job and hope they keep on pushing the car’s potential further.
Yeah i wondering if danny tan has left autocar asean and go for paultan instead.
Still what a great achievement. Despite the car is slower than the 207 and fabias, it has alot of good potential to succeed, but next year challenge will be harder due to entrance of ford fiesta. Just some fine tuning the engine and performance and i bet the satria neo will be a contender!
Syabas!
congratulations
GOOD job!
“The Proton chassis is one of the best I have ever driven. We’re doing the full IRC next year. We are looking forward to coming back and fighting these guys again,” he said
- proton chassis, its PROVEN -
so those who bash, or dislike proton, or proton is a low class, now put your self in a drivers seat of a satria neo 1.6 manual, if dont know the manual get an automatic, dont get scared with corner, study a bit what is ‘racing line’. dont affraid to drive hard even its just a campro . if driving cps. try to push until the CPS enggage,
enter the corner quick, dont wory proton has a quick geared steering.
then evaluate.
Good start for the new year. Car with good chassis sure does have advantage.
I like proton’s dynamic, I dislike its quality. LOL.
proton is only badge..
playmaker is MEM..
anyway congrate..
Yup, Proton main problem is quality. The chassis for sure is good as it is tune by Lotus. I admit it that my wira still can went in corners at high speed, but quality wise + engine technology + safety for the normal market seems to be another way around…
lepas nie xder dah satria jongket. semua lowered tahap gampang.
bravo proton !! hope next proton will introduce Evo version satria NEO..with 280hp for production…maybe range around RM150k…now its the time..”jgn tunggu sampai satria neo dah basi…”
proton did it….. yattaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………….
offtopic>>
err…wira with lotus’ handling..satria gti?
MyDear said,
December 2, 2009 @ 9:39 am
Saya mesti pilih~
———————————
hoho,ini x mau jual
ini champion punya maaaa…
Tersenyum si penjual goreng pisang terkenangkan detik-detik manis bersama keluarga menjalajah serata negeri menggunakan Saga terpakainya,kadang-kala terasa kagum, kereta yang dipandunya menjadi kebanggaannya hingga kini.`SYABAS PROTON…..’ detik hatinya, teruskan usaha serta niat murni kamu. Setidak-tidaknya, si penjual goreng pisang di tepian jalan,si pekerja kilang,si tukang kebun,dan orang-orang yang tidak berapa mampu untuk membeli kerta luar kini mampu bergerak lebih jauh mencari rezeki.Tentu mereka bahagia bersama anak-anak di hujung minggu menjelajah menikmati keindahan negara tercinta. Tidak lagi mebonceng di belakang basikal tua,……
itu littlefire mau biglies… wira with lotus handling? since when?
ahhhh..from the birth of the car, i still admiring this car. but im only 19. awhhh. cant wait to get this car.
proton’s lotus tuned chasis has some sort of drawback interms of safety .
that is one of the reason that the proton waja did not score well in crash test , same goes to 5 series , the E60. becasue the ratio of stiffness of the front crumple zone and the passenger sub-frame is meant to be stiff, that’ve caused the force being transferred but not absorbed . toyota GOA on altis has this sort of problem where the handing isn’t that good, which is the reverse way of proton.
Littlefire said,
December 2, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Yup, Proton main problem is quality. The chassis for sure is good as it is tune by Lotus. I admit it that my wira still can went in corners at high speed, but quality wise + engine technology + safety for the normal market seems to be another way around…
————
then..what we called ‘BLIND BASHER’..bikin malu diri sendiri.. hehehe
awak said,
December 2, 2009 @ 11:59 am
so those who bash, or dislike proton, or proton is a low class, now put your self in a drivers seat of a satria neo 1.6 manual, if dont know the manual get an automatic, dont get scared with corner, study a bit what is ‘racing line’. dont affraid to drive hard even its just a campro . if driving cps. try to push until the CPS enggage,
enter the corner quick, dont wory proton has a quick geared steering.
——————
They might bash overall of the car not only chasis. JD power also evaluate many aspect not only chasis. Actual Satria Neo is not that good car where material used degrading faster than other model (take steering wheel for instance). I think Proton material is cheap and easy degraded that’s why Singapore market got leather wrapped steering for standard. Here must wait for SE model with additional prices. Hmm no doubt chassis is good but it not able to boost sale in UK or Alister home country as leg room and head room is extremely poor. Kudos to Azlano team.
Littlefire said,
December 2, 2009 @ 10:48 am
I just wonder where have Karanjit Singh went… Last time they want to join WRC but due to lack of finance they drop off… But now Proton can support these world class driver. Yup, they might have bring Proton to the top with a 2.0L Renault engine in it.
But still without our Campro engine + Local driver… I felt like missing something… Hmm…
Littlefire said,
December 2, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Yup, Proton main problem is quality. The chassis for sure is good as it is tune by Lotus. I admit it that my wira still can went in corners at high speed, but quality wise + engine technology + safety for the normal market seems to be another way around…
Proton will produce their own engine.. Can u just wait for a while?? if they use 1.6 campro and they lost, I bet u r 1st will bash proton.. if u want it now, please donate all ur money to Proton RnD…
in wira quality n technology, it is 90′s technology.. we r now end of 2009!! wake up n smell the coffee!!
“Premium said,
December 2, 2009 @ 10:03 am
Danny Tan is related to Paul Tan? Why dont you introduce yourselves along with Harvinder Sidhu. We want to know more about you lah.”
i suspect all this time, that there is no actual paul tan.. i believe its some super computer that has become ‘self-aware’, with several trillion gigaflopped data computing power buried deep inside batu caves. It controls several human minions to do its physical bidding while it trawls the world for automotive news. No way a single person could do all this alone…
karamjit singh not used to drive on the otherside lah.. he tried it before but he back out……. maybe wait for a different version…
campro 1.6.. regulation need 2.0 thus S2000.
no need produce engine lah. just buy renault engine… and start locally produce those spareparts.
Have you guys tested wira 1.6L chasis?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_Wira
“In 2001 the Wira received suspension tuning from Lotus.”
Who said wira never been tune by Lotus?
Even i am using todays Campro technology, compare with other manufacturer are we better? Lets say Honda 90′s VTEC vs Campro CPS. Which 1 better?!? Huh ur head!
“lo said,
December 2, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
proton’s lotus tuned chasis has some sort of drawback interms of safety .
that is one of the reason that the proton waja did not score well in crash test , same goes to 5 series , the E60. becasue the ratio of stiffness of the front crumple zone and the passenger sub-frame is meant to be stiff, that’ve caused the force being transferred but not absorbed . toyota GOA on altis has this sort of problem where the handing isn’t that good, which is the reverse way of proton.”
I’m interested to know more on this
is this a fact or an assumption?
lo said,
December 2, 2009 @ 1:47 pm
proton’s lotus tuned chasis has some sort of drawback interms of safety .
that is one of the reason that the proton waja did not score well in crash test , same goes to 5 series , the E60. becasue the ratio of stiffness of the front crumple zone and the passenger sub-frame is meant to be stiff, that’ve caused the force being transferred but not absorbed . toyota GOA on altis has this sort of problem where the handing isn’t that good, which is the reverse way of proton.
To Lo,
Sori Lo, you talk nonsense!
congrats!
congrats congrats
Cheer for the PROTON!
I think MEM should be appointed as a Tuner for proton. Well, not exactly like the specs in s2000 but to include the major improvement in the next neo gti.
Well done for Proton too coz their marketing strategies thru rally was making good results, now we will see Proton in the next 1MF1 team.
Proton, i can see ur bright future now:)
Littlefire said:
“I just wonder where have Karanjit Singh went… Last time they want to join WRC but due to lack of finance they drop off… But now Proton can support these world class driver. Yup, they might have bring Proton to the top with a 2.0L Renault engine in it.
But still without our Campro engine + Local driver… I felt like missing something… Hmm…”
—————————————————————-
Bro,u lack too many things..please read previous post from Paul
ibnu sani said,
December 2, 2009 @ 1:23 pm
Tersenyum si penjual goreng pisang terkenangkan detik-detik manis bersama keluarga menjalajah serata negeri menggunakan Saga terpakainya,kadang-kala terasa kagum, kereta yang dipandunya menjadi kebanggaannya hingga kini.`SYABAS PROTON…..’ detik hatinya, teruskan usaha serta niat murni kamu. Setidak-tidaknya, si penjual goreng pisang di tepian jalan,si pekerja kilang,si tukang kebun,dan orang-orang yang tidak berapa mampu untuk membeli kerta luar kini mampu bergerak lebih jauh mencari rezeki.Tentu mereka bahagia bersama anak-anak di hujung minggu menjelajah menikmati keindahan negara tercinta. Tidak lagi mebonceng di belakang basikal tua,……
————————————
ni yang bahaya..bawak kereta lama, pastu masuk 5-6 org satu kereta..without airbags, without appropriate safety items etc…more worse driving like siput on the road, bukak tingkap later on lengan atas pintu sambil isap rokok dan berangan as well as borak2 dengan family members in the car…others drivers following at the back bengang..suddenly accident happens semua mati katak..ehehe
this is what happening in Malaysia!
better ask your family to stay at home rather than going around using this kind of car…it’s too dangerous
Hazri said,
December 2, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
ibnu sani said,
December 2, 2009 @ 1:23 pm
Tersenyum si penjual goreng pisang terkenangkan detik-detik manis bersama keluarga menjalajah serata negeri menggunakan Saga terpakainya,kadang-kala terasa kagum, kereta yang dipandunya menjadi kebanggaannya hingga kini.`SYABAS PROTON…..’ detik hatinya, teruskan usaha serta niat murni kamu. Setidak-tidaknya, si penjual goreng pisang di tepian jalan,si pekerja kilang,si tukang kebun,dan orang-orang yang tidak berapa mampu untuk membeli kerta luar kini mampu bergerak lebih jauh mencari rezeki.Tentu mereka bahagia bersama anak-anak di hujung minggu menjelajah menikmati keindahan negara tercinta. Tidak lagi mebonceng di belakang basikal tua,……
————————————
ni yang bahaya..bawak kereta lama, pastu masuk 5-6 org satu kereta..without airbags, without appropriate safety items etc…more worse driving like siput on the road, bukak tingkap later on lengan atas pintu sambil isap rokok dan berangan as well as borak2 dengan family members in the car…others drivers following at the back bengang..suddenly accident happens semua mati katak..ehehe
this is what happening in Malaysia!
better ask your family to stay at home rather than going around using this kind of car…it’s too dangerous
————————————–
ni yg susah klw bebual dgn org yg tak faham bahasa,,bepikiran pendek…pastu malu nak mengaku ketinggalan!
kpd ibnu Sani,sy faham apa sbnrnya mesej yg kamu mahu smpaikan itu……
haha,aku kene mrh ke?sory dude,
Alarh,orang `kita’ kn memang cmnih,kui3
bkn ape,saje jerk nak nasihat2=p
Premium, thanks for your suggestion, we’re planning to do an “intro” post like that soon actually
I knew what u mean,and felt like missing something too..
but littleffire..this is international rally. that’s why the choice team to implement this rally for Proton was MEM..why MEM? u knew it why;)
wow nih bukti proton on the right track… ermm hope fully plzzz proton keluarkan segment sport car … mesti ader perbeli nye.. wish to drive that satria s2000 perhh my god if protom MEM can tune campro engine make it batter it will gain proton profit… make it as reasonable stage 1,2,3,n wild. org akan buat nyer… TAHNIAH PROTON… pasal karamjit ermmm nanti lah aku pun nak drive gak ekekek (just jocking ekekeke) GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PROTONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
p/s still some malaysian under estimate our pride huh
ops..another “hazri” over here? hehehe..
Akim,
i don’t think my previous words offended some of you..instead, i just giving the real point & scenario why there are so many deaths in this country
have you heard an accident happend in Kelantan recently? 2 different major accidents within the same week…all those cars involved were not equipped with appropriate safety features…..
Hello guys! Yes, guilty as charged, I was formerly with Autocar ASEAN and you’ll see more of me here from now!
Well done Proton!
The deaths cannot be blamed on car manufacturers, safety features have been introduced and improved over the years. The reason we have accidents are because our drivers are careless and they disregard trafic rules and regulations. An example is the law introduced this year for back seat passengers to wear seatbelts. How many do that? I am sure most Proton cars have these rear seat belt, but how many use them? Dont blame Proton la.
syabas and tahniah Proton!
Woah..cooooolllll,Danny Tan & Paul Tan.
Danny Tan said,
December 2, 2009 @ 6:03 pm
Hello guys! Yes, guilty as charged, I was formerly with Autocar ASEAN and you’ll see more of me here from now!
——————
so u quitted autocar? haha i love your hairstyle and thick black specs
Hi Danny,
Well i will miss u in autocar asean together with faisal cause really the two of you are one of the better writers/reviewers for car journalism in Mysia. Still not a lost here, its a small world for car journalism in mysia after all.
In this topic meanwhile, for those who wanted Karamjit to race,i would rather get young foreign talent than relying on him again. His getting old and less competitive in the world stage. Just too bad we dont have any local rally drivers that can succeed him.
If proton sell this neo with renault engine.. will sell like hot cakes or pisang goreng.. lol
take that to proton bashers and government bashers aka pembangkang..
congrats.. keep it up!
i watch some part of the irc rally on eurosport on astro, i think its the scotland rally but not completely sure. the car looks awesome in yellow.
anyway, why not many manufacturers/different car other than citroen ford and subaru enter the wrc? i watch wrc show and i think its a bloody awesome.
Good job. Hope we get better average result next year.
Congratulations~!, now stop fucking around and get us some proper airbags
shawal, agreed!
patiniox said,
December 2, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
take that to proton bashers and government bashers aka pembangkang..
————————————————————
I supported proton under Syed Zainal. but not supporting your idiotic BN.
alif mim nun wau… alif tendang wau… sarkis…
let’s buy all buy proton satria neo LOL!
bn is good…
Check out the place where the initial bits of the Neo DNA was first put together
http://3.ly/LotusCarFactoryGoogleStreetView
But rest assured most of the tuning was done in our very own backyard – alam megah, putra heights, and the winding roads of batu 14 hulu langat.
hiruma kecil said,
December 3, 2009 @ 9:18 am
bn is good…
————————————
NO POLITIC PLEASE!
Although it just a badge….
but at least we can a satria won a rally.
Can we get the satria neo sedan in da future? like the look at it…
Maybe the front look of Persona should be like Satria Neo…
I remember when a time where all front Proton Cars look alike…
Wira, Satria, Arena….
tahniah proton…. When can we see satria neo gti with 2lt engine????
Ploton said,
December 3, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
Although it just a badge….
but at least we can a satria won a rally.
——————————-
its not just the badge…. the chassis is a satria neo chassis…
i believe the Satria Neo in this rally is much different than the one we get on our roads. The rally car has gone thru much modifications and engine also different. So kuddos to Proton for winning but dun expect its the same car we are getting here.
How about selling a road spec satria neo with the same look and colour just like subaru wrx.
Thats good…keep it up!!
i wish proton could make a better car in the next few years. i love satria neo very much but when thinking about proton’s quality, i have to choose other car.
tahniah proton…. When can we see satria neo gti with 2lt engine????
lol satria neo cps is already to fast and too light..have u see one on the road
if u put a 2.0L engine on exora then fine la..but on satria neo??,i dunno what’ll happen, maybe it’ll fly?
Improve : The chassis is the same. If ever, it will boost race team owners’ confidence in using Satria Neo for their rally.
All rally cars are different than road-legal cars that average Joes use, duh. A normal Ford Focus can cost under £20k, but a full specced Ford Focus used in WRC can cost up to £345k. That’s more expensive than a Lamborghini.
Have you guys tested wira 1.6L chasis?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_Wira
“In 2001 the Wira received suspension tuning from Lotus.”
Who said wira never been tune by Lotus?
—————————
for export la bro..not for local
Even i am using todays Campro technology, compare with other manufacturer are we better? Lets say Honda 90’s VTEC vs Campro CPS. Which 1 better?!? Huh ur head!
—————————
90′s vtec OEM vs Campro CPS OEM la baru adil
kalau yg dah modi buat apa
zaeidos said,
December 4, 2009 @ 11:48 am
tahniah proton…. When can we see satria neo gti with 2lt engine????
lol satria neo cps is already to fast and too light..have u see one on the road
if u put a 2.0L engine on exora then fine la..but on satria neo??,i dunno what’ll happen, maybe it’ll fly?
****
saw drag car at kg gajah
it a charade aura with vr4 beated a evo5..still ok no fly meh
unless proton not hv knowlegde to make a car sure can fly lol
du you think satria 1.3 compare with satria gti hv same body?
wira 1.3 same with wira 2.0 diesel?
zaeidos said,
December 4, 2009 @ 11:48 am
tahniah proton…. When can we see satria neo gti with 2lt engine????
lol satria neo cps is already to fast and too light..have u see one on the road
if u put a 2.0L engine on exora then fine la..but on satria neo??,i dunno what’ll happen, maybe it’ll fly?
****
saw drag car at kg gajah
it a charade aura with vr4 beated a evo5..still ok no fly meh
unless proton not hv knowlegde to make a car sure can fly lol
du you think satria 1.3 compare with satria gti hv same body?
wira 1.3 same with wira 2.0 diesel?
euro cars have been putting 2.0, 2.4, 3.0 in small cars… None are flying.
You need wings my friend to fly.
___________________________________________________________________________
come on la… race cars weight much more lighter… much more powerful engines… but still its stable and did not even fly.
W E L L D O N E ! ! !
F1 cars is super much much lighter than neo. and even too super damn uncomparable tahap petala langit more powerful than neo..they fly? learn more about aerodynamics my stupid frens. Use your dad money to go to university and learn about bernoulli instead of using it to fuck the bitches.
The Satria Neo S2000 kill’s me…DAMN!i’ve seen their test drive b4 da race and man….the car really powerful and very good at handling. I’m proud 2 be Malaysian. Now, Malaysia are well known around da world..with Petronas sponsored the Mercedes GP..I’m so proud…
rasa nak nangis melihat kejayaan proton
yahoo…..malaysia boleh………..