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  • Proton set to take on IRC champs Skoda in their home rally

    In Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 31 comments

    The Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) resumes this weekend in the Czech Republic, and Proton will be there at the Barum Czech Rally Zlin with their yellow Neos piloted by two-time FIA Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson and double FIA European Rally Champion Giandomenico Basso. This is round seven of IRC 2011′s 11 races.

    Based in the south-east of the Czech Republic, some 300 km east from capital Prague and about 200 km north from the Austrian capital of Vienna, the 41st edition of the Zlin Rally will be contested through the forests close to the city of Zlin. The event will consist of 15 special stages with a combined competitive distance of 248.48 km. High-speed and tricky asphalt roads will be waiting for the drivers.

    Rallying begins with a 9.36 km test along a super special stage in the town centre which will be run in the dark before day two takes teams through another nine SS totaling 133.4 km. The third and final day will feature six special stages with a distance of 115 km. The event will see 29 S2000 cars battle, 14 of which are Skoda Fabia S2000s, from a total of 123 registered entries. This is the home race for Skoda, the IRC champions.

    “The roads on this rally can be quite bumpy with some broken tarmac, which is good for me – this kind of condition suits me quite well. I haven’t competed in Zlin before, but I have heard a lot about the rally. I’m looking forward to getting out there and driving again to chase a good result,” said ex-Suzuki man Andersson.

    “The most important thing is to find a good confidence in the car on the bumpy surface. Barum is not like a normal tarmac rally, it is very specific. The bumps make finding the right set-up complicated so there is a lot of work to do with the dampers. The roads in Zlin can be especially difficult when there is rain,” said the experienced Italian Basso.

    I went to the official Czech Rally website, and guess what greeted me? Hint, it’s not a Skoda!

     

  • A successful race for Satria Neo rally cars in New Zealand

    In Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 28 comments

    Proton’s Satria Neo S2000 surged ahead to claim its third victory in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), winning the Pacific Cup and with driver Chris Atkinson finishing first outright in the International Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand.
     

    Alister McRae finished seventh overall in the rally but was second amongst the registered APRC contenders to give Proton a 1-2 finish for maximum points in the championship. He was in 3rd overall for most of the day in a battle with Kiwi Richard Mason who was fourth. Unfortunately, a spin in SS15, the 2nd last stage of the day dropped him to 7th.


     
    Satria Neos also went on to clinch first and second places in the two-wheel drive category of the APRC championship with drivers Karamjit Singh and Akira Bamba in the Proton Cusco Rally Team 1600cc Satria Neos. Karamjit and Akira finished 4th and 5th overall in the APRC classification, 18th and 19th overall for the International Rally of Whangarei respectively from a field of 48 cars that restarted the second day of rallying. A third 1600cc Satria Neo at the hands of Indian driver Sanjay Ram finished 21st.  
     

    For Atkinson, victory in New Zealand was his third after Malaysia and New Caledonia. The Australian and former World Rally Championship (WRC) driver ran a trouble-free rally over the final day’s eight special stages contested against the backdrop of intermittent rain, setting fastest times on five special stages to seal victory for Proton 12.4 seconds ahead of local favourite Hayden Paddon in a Subaru Impreza WRX STi. Atkinson maintained great consistency throughout the two-day event and had even gone on to set a new record in the 10.99km special stage 14 with a time of 6 minutes 48.5 seconds, bettering the previous record held by Paddon by five seconds.
     

     
    While the stages were generally fast and smooth flowing, the cold and wet conditions did provide a degree of challenge to drivers who were forced to contend with puddles and slippery patches. Among those who retired from the rally were the Team MRF’s and defending APRC champion Katsuhiko Taguchi and team mate Gaurav Gill, and Pertamina Cusco Racing’s Rifat Sungkar, all three driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
      
    Round five of the APRC moves to the Rally of Hokkaido in Japan in September with the final round being the China Rally in November.

     

  • APRC: Proton heads to New Zealand in mid winter

    In Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 39 comments

    The FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) will move to New Zealand this weekend (15-17 July) where the International Rally of Whangarei will take place in the middle of a Kiwi winter.

    We’re into the second half of the six-race calendar now, and after rallies in Malaysia, Australia and New Caledonia, Proton is sitting pretty in the Manufacturers’ standings tied with Mitsubishi in the lead with 93 points, while Chris Atkinson is leading the Drivers’ standings with 70 points. Teammate Alister McRae is third with 60 points.

    Proton finished second in this event last year and will be aiming for no less than the top step of the podium this year. The Whangarei event consists of 16 gravel stages with some heavy cambers.

    While the surface is smooth and relatively kinder to the cars than in some other events on the APRC calendar, two runs through the 40 km Bull stage and more than 300 competitive kilometres across two days means that it isn’t a walk in the park. The cold temperatures (typically between 5 and 15 degrees) and the possibility of sudden rain are also challenges.

    “We have made a number of changes to the car from the start of the year and all of them are taking us in the right direction. You only have to look at the times the car is doing in the IRC against the cream of the Super 2000 factory cars to see how close we’re getting. We’re down to fine-tuning with the Satria now; it’s very exciting to see where the car is now and where it’s going to be in the very near future. We have a huge amount of potential,” said team principal Chris Mellors.

    They’re in yellow and they’re joining a rally, but there’s nothing illegal about our Satria Neo S2000s! Good luck boys!

     

  • P-G finishes treacherous Ypres Rally in 19th, Basso falls

    In Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 17 comments

    The Geko Ypres Rally happened over the weekend as the fifth leg of this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). The Belgian asphalt rally was a treacherous one that claimed many big names, including local favourite Thiery Neuville and Skoda drivers Andreas Mikkelsen and Jan Kopecky. Proton’s Giandomenico Basso also failed to finish but teammate P-G Andersson managed to complete the rally in 19th place.

    Proton’s Swede was among the 61 finishers of 124 cars that started the two-day 18-stage rally. 31 entrants were S2000 cars. Racing across narrow farmland roads, the extreme wet, cold and slippery conditions made the event extra challenging.

    The rally was won by home boy Freddy Loix, who led from start and did not put a wheel wrong. The Skoda man is now top of the IRC driver standings. Peugeot’s Bryan Bouffier was second and debutant Hans Weijs completed the podium in a Fabia.

    Proton pilots Basso and Andersson had both come within nine seconds of creeping into the top 10 places before being struck by misfortune. Pushing hard after finishing the first day in 11th and just nine seconds adrift, Basso’s rally came to an end in SS7 when he hit a low brick wall hidden in tall grass. That knock put his Satria Neo S2000 in a ditch.

    Meanwhile, P-G began to pick up his pace in the rally and shot from 18th in the opening stage (SS7) to move up to 17th and then 16th over the next two SS. By SS10 he was 12th and with one stage to go in SS17, the double Junior WRC had brought the Satria Neo S2000 to 11th and within 8.9 seconds of a top-10 finish.

    But it was not meant to be. Proton’s valiant charge was dealt a cruel blow when P-G’s final push saw him went wide 2km into the 10km final special stage (SS18). The Neo’s left rear wheel was damaged, but Andersson was still able to continue, losing 24 seconds in the process to eventually finish in 19th.

    Despite the heartbreak, the team sees the encouraging pace as a “real competitive assessment of where we are currently in terms of development and how much more we need to do in the IRC” according to Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, Head of Proton Motorsports.

    “Although this is Proton’s first full year in the IRC, we are certainly making valuable progress and heading in the right direction as far as development of the Satria Neo S2000 and the brand is concerned,” he added. Chin up guys, better luck next time!

     

  • Proton wins Rally De Nouvelle Caledonia – Chris Atkinson takes top honours again, Alister McRae finished third

    In Cars, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 56 comments

    After the heartbreak in Australia, Proton has returned to winning ways in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), winning the Rally De Nouvelle Caledonie. Chris Atkinson and co-driver Stephane Prevot took the Satria Neo S2000 to victory in the third round of the APRC, finished ahead of Pertamina Cusco Racing’s Rifat Sungkar in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.

    Teammate Alister McRae capped off a successful weekend in New Caledonia with a hard-fought third place, after having conceded his early lead in the rally due to a puncture and broken driveshaft. The result mirrors that of the Malaysian Rally, the opening round of the championship.

    “It’s a phenomenal result for Proton – the entire team and for Stephane and I personally. Our rally wasn’t exactly trouble free, especially with a broken driveshaft on day 2, but we were lucky we had built a big enough gap to have it replaced and still hang on to the lead,” said Atkinson.

    Atkinson moves into the lead of the APRC Driver’s Championship with 58 points, just two ahead of McRae. In third place is Team MRF’s Gaurav Gill, who retired in New Caledonia. McRae also reclaims the top spot in the Asia Cup Driver’s Championship ahead of Gill.

    Victory in New Caledonia saw Proton claiming not only the overall victory, but also top honours amongst the APRC contenders, finishing first in the Pacific Cup and clinching the APRC Team Trophy at the event.

    A further bonus for Proton came from Karamjit Singh, who won the Two-Wheel Drive Category in a 1600cc Satria Neo, extending his lead in the Driver’s Championship and Proton’s in the Manufacturer’s Championship. Karamjit finished ninth overall in the rally.

    “Two victories in three rounds of the APRC certainly prove the competitiveness of the Satria Neo S2000. We’ve endured our fair share of misfortunes and mechanical issues, but the car has nevertheless proven time and time again that it is able to take on the more powerful turbocharged cars and more importantly, win rallies,” said Proton’s managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin.

    “We have channeled a lot of effort towards development in terms of achieving both greater performance and reliability since the last rally in Australia and this has indeed paid dividends here in New Caledonia. This is a big step forward and with all the mechanical issues hopefully behind us, we now look forward to our next immediate event, which is the Ypres Rally in Belgium in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) and New Zealand in the APRC,” he added.

     

  • IRC Yalta Rally Ukraine: Two Protons in top 10 after Leg 1

    In Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 16 comments

    The Proton Motorsports team is now in Ukraine for the Prime Yalta Rally, which is the fourth round of this season’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). Their last IRC event was Round 2 (Rally Islas Canarias) in Spain, where the team collected its first points of the season. The yellow Neos then skipped Round 3 (Tour de Corse) to focus on the APRC’s Queensland Rally in Australia.

    The three-day event sees Proton fielding its strongest line-up to date in the IRC. Against the backdrop of the Crimea region’s Ai-Petri Mountains on the north coast of the Black Sea, Yalta consists of 14 special stages run entirely on asphalt over a combined distance of 721.61 km.

    Things are off to a good start. Two of three Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 cars finished in the top 10 after Leg 1. Italian Giandomenico Basso, who scored in Spain for Proton, is the highest placed in eighth position after the opening day’s two SS and just 5.6 seconds adrift of current leader Thierry Neuville (Peugeot 207 S2000). Teammate P-G Andersson is a further three seconds behind to round up the top 10 dominated by Peugeot and Skoda.

    Proton’s third entry, piloted by Ukrainian rally star and former USSR rally champ Oleksandr Saliuk Sr is 18th overall from a total of 42 registered competitors, 26.7 seconds down the order. Saliuk Sr’s son Alexander had earlier been scheduled to drive the third Neo S2000 but suffered a broken arm, so in came dad.

    Special stage 1 began in the outskirts of Yalta over a short 2.12 km sprint before moving on to Livadija for the second special stage, which was run over a distance of 5.49 km. Leg 2 will consist of six special stages to be run today while the third and final leg on Saturday will also be run over another six special stages.

    New to the IRC calendar, the Prime Yalta Rally has levelled the playing field somewhat, with teams not having the benefit of previous technical data to rely on. The changing weather conditions has also made it even more challenging with the varying levels of grip, according to Proton team members in Ukraine. Good luck guys!

     

  • Team Proton R3 dominates Round 2 of the MSS

    In Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 36 comments

    It was a successful weekend for Team Proton R3 at Sepang, with its two entries finishing first and second in the two races in Round 2 of the Malaysian Super Series (MSS). Faidzil Alang and his team-mate Syafiq Ali dominated the field to win both races in their Satria Neo and GEN.2 R3 race cars, each driver topping the podium once.

    In Race 1, Faidzil made the most of his pole position and led the race from start to finish, with the only serious challenge coming from Syafiq. Syafiq, who qualified in fourth place due to a problem during qualifying, made a great start to overtake the second and third-placed cars to slot in behind team-mate Faidzil by the end of the first turn, and both drivers maintained their positions to the chequered flag.

    In Race 2, heavy rain delayed the start by almost an hour and it eventually started as a wet race. Faidzil led the race from the start, trailed by Syafiq. A mechanical problem on the third lap saw Faidzil forced to relinquish his lead to Syafiq, and he ran the rest of the race fending off eventual third-placed finisher, Siah W Pyng, who also finished third in Race 1.

    “We are thrilled with the results this weekend. Despite the stiff competition and challenging weather conditions, our team were well prepared to face anything. This is a testimonial of all the development work and testing we’ve done in preparation for this season as well as our experiences from previous races,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, Head of Proton Motorsports Division.

    Round 3 of the Malaysian Super Series 2011 will take place on July 2-3, while Round 4 runs on Oct 1-2, and the final round is on Nov 26-27.

     

  • Team Proton R3 aims to extend lead in MSS this weekend

    In Cars, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 34 comments


    Click to enlarge

    UPDATE: Team Proton R3′s Faidzil Alang is on pole position with a time of 2:41.941. Second fastest is Siah W Pyng (2:46.056) and Mark Darwin is third (2:51.897). Faidzil’s teammate Syafiq Ali is fourth with 2:53.342 after having engine misfiring problems.

    Round 2 of the Malaysian Super Series 2011 happens this weekend in Sepang, and as we type, the teams are preparing for qualifying, which starts at 4pm. Team Proton R3′s aim this weekend is to extend its lead at the top of the MTC Class 2 standings.

    In Round 1, which was a support race for the Formula 1 Malaysian GP, Team R3′s Faidzil Alang was second in Heat 1 and first in Heat 2. Faidzil is no stranger to the Malaysian motorsports scene and is widely regarded as one of the most successful circuit drivers around.

    This weekend sees the addition of a second car in the form of a Proton R3 GEN.2, piloted by young driver Syafiq Ali. His achievements to-date include winning the 2008 Asian Touring Car Series Championship for the 1500Max class and a Class B win in the Merdeka Millenium Endurance race in the same year. Both were done in a Proton Satria Neo.

    “In the short time Syafiq has been a racing driver, he has built up a reputation for being quick, disciplined and a team player. We are happy to have him aboard again as a driver for Team Proton R3. Together with Faidzil Alang, we can’t ask for a better team this weekend,” said Tengku Djan Ley, Head of Engineering, Proton Motorsports Division.

    “The old adage, win on Sunday, sell on Monday still holds true today for Proton R3. Much of the lessons learnt on the race and rally tracks have found their way into our showroom limited edition R3 vehicles.

    “Any Proton owner can also equip their vehicles with our accessories and parts that have been inspired and honed through rigorous testing and competition,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, Head of Proton Motorsports Division, who adds that the road going Proton R3 Satria Neo uses similar components found on the MSS race car.

     

  • Alister McRae finishes fourth for Proton in the Rally of Queensland, Chris Atkinson retires from his home event

    In Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 19 comments

    Alister McRae and co-driver Bill Hayes fended off a series of misfortunes on the third and final day of the Rally of Queensland to salvage a fourth place finish for the factory Proton team. McRae was leading the pack after Leg 1, but mechanical problems means that the Scot is still waiting for his first APRC win.

    Starting the day with an eight second advantage over Mitsubishi’s Gaurav Gill, earned after winning three stages on Leg 1, McRae lost the lead when his Satria Neo S2000’s engine began misfiring after a water crossing in one of the day’s seven special stages.

    The fightback was dealt a serious blow when he was forced to slow down as a result of a broken drive shaft over 50 km of the last three SS of the rally. No service interval, so they had to nurse the car home.

    Despite this disaster, McRae managed to hang on to fourth ahead of a charging Rifat Sungkar, the Indonesian competing in a Mitsubishi Evo 10.

    McRae’s teammate Chris Atkinson was hoping for a successful home rally, but it was not to be. After setting a blistering pace to lead the first two opening super special stages on Friday night and winning the first stage on Saturday morning, his run came to an abrupt end on the next stage due to an electrical failure. Rejoining the final day of the rally, the Aussie endured a second electrical failure which truly ended his rally.

    This second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship was won by British driver Mark Higgins, who finished 16 seconds ahead of Gaurav Gill. Japanese driver Katsuhiko Taguchi was third. Interestingly, Higgins is a three-time British Rally Champion and a stunt driver in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. With Welsh co-driver Ieuan Thomas, this was his first APRC rally.

    The Cusco tuned Neos did better in the 2WD category. Karamjit Singh led a category 1-2 ahead of fellow Neo driver Akira Bamba. They finished 9th and 11th overall in the rally.

     

  • Karamjit Singh to make APRC comeback at this weekend’s Rally of Queensland, driving a CUSCO Satria Neo 2WD!

    In Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo / By / / 69 comments

    The Rally of Queensland happens in Australia this weekend, and besides the yellow works Proton Satria Neo S2000s, we will be following the progress of another Neo, driven by Karamjit Singh. Yes, the Flying Sikh is back in the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) after a six-year absence. He confirmed his entry on the last day of registration.

    Karamjit, Asia’s most successful rally driver, will be competing as a privateer with Indian co-driver Vivek Ponnusamy. The multiple APRC champ and Production World Rally champ will be driving a CUSCO tuned Proton Satria Neo 2WD with private funding from close friends and family.

    After opting out of the season opening Malaysian Rally, which Proton won, Karamjit’s 2011 APRC campaign starts this weekend. He will be gunning to be the 2WD category champion. “I’m very happy to be able to rally at one of the APRC rounds this year. My aim is to be challenging for wins right from my first race,” the 49-year old said.

    But it all depends on the funds available. Karamjit is confident he will be able to attract “strategic partnerships” with government agencies as well as private companies to allow him race the entire season. For next year, Karamjit wants to make a comeback in the Group N 4WD category, if there’s enough support that comes in on time.

     
 
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