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Proton at Rally Hokkaido – Alister McRae finishes third, and APRC driver’s title goes down to the wire

October 3, 2011 at 12:02 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo


UPDATE: Winner Gaurav Gill has been excluded from the results due to a technical infringement, and the APRC Driver’s title is now a two-horse battle between Proton drivers Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson.

Proton may not have been able to crown a champion at the Rally Hokkaido over the weekend, but three of its cars finishing on the podium in round five of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) was nevertheless a very good outing for the team.

Initial honours went to Indian driver Gaurav Gill, in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, though a technical infringement meant that his exclusion from the final classification results. As such, Toshihiro Arai, in a Subaru WRX STI, has been classified as the overall winner, with Gill’s MRF teammate Katsuhiko Taguchi coming in second. Alister McRae completed the podium by finishing third in his Satria Neo S2000.

Beginning the second leg of the rally 31.4 seconds adrift of Taguchi in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, McRae won two of the morning’s four special stages to close the gap to within 18.5 seconds, but in the end had to contend with third place despite closing the gap to within 8.8 seconds and being the fastest driver on Leg 2 of the rally.

The results in Japan will set the stage for a three-way battle for this year’s APRC crown, with McRae now leading Proton team mate Chris Atkinson, who retired on the first day, followed by Gill, with the title to be decided in the next and final round of the APRC, in Longyou, China in November.

“We had a good run in Japan, considering that the terrain and stages suited the turbocharged four-wheel drive cars better. The results might have been a lot different had it not been for McRae’s puncture and Atkinson’s retirement on the first day, but that’s the nature of rallying,” said Proton Motorsports head Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood.

“Having said that, the Satria Neo S2000 performed well against the more powerful turbocharged cars and the results are testimony to the level of progress we have made in terms of development of the car, which we have demonstrated this season by winning three of the five rallies so far. One more round will determine the APRC championship and rest assured that we will be fighting hard to end the season on a high note,” he added.

Completing the good outing in Japan were the dominant drives demonstrated by Proton’s two Group N 1600 Satria Neos. The team secured two podium finishes with Karamjit Singh and Japanese team mate Akira Bamba finishing first and second respectively in the APRC 1600cc Two Wheel Drive category.

Bamba also secured the inaugural FIA APRC Junior Championship title, with the Cusco-prepared Satria Neo Group N rally car. Meanwhile, Gunaseelan Rajoo clinched the Class “A” title in the APRC 1600cc Two Wheel Drive category in a Class “A” Proton Satria Neo.

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Proton scores double race wins in the MSS

October 3, 2011 at 11:22 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Some winning news about Proton. Over the weekend, Syafiq Ali and Faidzil Alang powered to double race wins in the Malaysian touring car championship at the Sepang International Circuit.

Occupying the top two positions on the grid, the Proton R3 racing team dominated to lead the 10 lap race from start to finish. Pole-sitter Syafiq set a blistering pace in his Gen2 to take the honours, with team mate Faidzil making it a one-two finish in the Satria Neo R3. Finishing third in race 1 and 2 was Siah Wy Pyng, in another Satria Neo R3.

Syafiq and Alang also had a day to remember as they both dominated qualifying and finals in the MTC, ensuring a 1-2 front row as they both posted 24:34:990 and 24:39:300 respectively for the final rounds.

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Basso finishes 10th for Proton in IRC San Remo Rally

September 27, 2011 at 1:07 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Some late news about the San Remo Rally, which concluded on Sunday – Proton finished 10th when Giandomenico Basso reversed his misfortunes on the first day and made the most of his home rally advantage and knowledge to secure final championship point in round nine of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC).

Fighting from 13th, after conceding 8th position when an intercom failure forced him off the road and losing more than five minutes, Basso pushed on – not even an alternator problem on the final day could deny the Italian as he powered the Satria Neo S2000 past Swiss Peugeot driver Grégoire Hotz on the very last special stage of the rally.

The result represents a big leap forward in the development of the Satria Neo S2000, which finished 18th in its debut at San Remo last year. Frenchman Thierry Neuville won the 53rd running of the rally in a Peugeot 207 S2000 ahead of Skoda’s Andreas Mikkelsen.

“We had a fantastic drive on the second and final day with a lot of catching up to do. Despite the early and many setbacks faced, overall, it has been a very rewarding rally for both Proton and I personally. The results have certainly proven the car has grown even more competitive over the short span of one year. We believe the Satria Neo S2000 has every bit the potential of fighting for victories in the IRC,” said a delighted Basso, who last won the San Remo Rally in 2008.

Chris Atkinson’s rally, meanwhile, had come to an early end. with an electrical problem putting paid to his rally on the opening special stage. The challenging San Remo asphalt had also taken its toll on Peugeot’s Guy Wilks, who retired on the same stage after hitting a bridge.

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Schumi on Singapore crash: It was a misunderstanding

September 26, 2011 at 11:14 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Mercedes Benz, Motorsports

Yesterday’s Singapore GP wasn’t the most exciting race we’ve had this season, and I was nodding off in my Esplanade Waterfront seat. As an event, Singapore is unbeatable – the sights, organisation and buzz are all amazing, it’s almost like a big party that happens to have an F1 race running around it – but track action could do with more spice.

There were some “oooh aaah” moments though, and Michael Schumacher going airborne was one. The seven-time champ tried to pass Sauber’s Sergio Perez on lap 28, but clipped the Mexican’s rear tyre and flew straight into the barriers. He was out, but Perez continued racing and picked up points for his efforts. Schumi is shrugging the incident off as a misunderstanding.

“It was a very unfortunate ending to my race in Singapore tonight and obviously I am a bit disappointed. What happened was what I would call a misunderstanding between Sergio Perez and myself,” the Mercedes GP Petronas driver said.

“He was about to go inside and lifted, and I was not expecting him to do that so early, and therefore hit him. It’s probably one of those race incidents which look more impressive from outside than from inside, as I am totally OK and my impact in the end was not too heavy. It was a pity because my car and the tyres worked well, and therefore the pace was very good. I will look ahead to the next races and hope to have better endings there,” he added.

Like he said, pace was good. Perhaps we’ll get to see more of the rejuvenated Schumi in Japan!

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Team Lotus extends Renault engine deal till end of 2013, to get KERS supply from Red Bull Technology

September 26, 2011 at 9:25 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Team Lotus and Renault Sport F1 have confirmed that their existing engine deal is to be extended for a further year, taking it to the end of 2013, which will also be the end of the V8 engine era in the sport. Both parties aim to continue working together when the new engine regulations (V6 turbo, read about it here) come into force.

Renault Sport F1, which currently also provides engines to champs Red Bull and Lotus Renault GP, and Red Bull Technology will also provide the Malaysian owned squad with KERS systems for the first time for the duration of the agreement. The current T128 does not have the power boost system.

“They are both passionate, dedicated teams of people with whom we have a growing relationship that is creating a number of exciting opportunities for us for the future. They share our vision for where we want to take our team, and we are very proud to have their power pushing us forward,” said Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes.

“Not only will we be able to build on everything we have learnt through working with Renault and Red Bull Technology in 2011, but we will now have the added benefit of KERS for next year, which really is a major step forward for our team. We have done the very best job we can this year but without that extra power we are always competing on a different level to the teams ahead, so to give our drivers that boost is a key element of helping us catch the cars ahead, and compete with them when we do so,” he added.

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Sebastian Vettel crowned as 2011 Singapore GP winner!

September 25, 2011 at 10:03 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel has collected yet another win in the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship, bringing him even closer to his second world title. The Red Bull ace who has been having a phenomenal season this year was the first driver to cross the finish line under the beautiful night sky at the Singapore GP.

The German who started the 61-lap race around the breathtaking Marina Bay street circuit from pole position finished the race ahead of fellow World Champion Jenson Button from McLaren and team mate Mark Webber. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth while fifth was taken up by Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. Force India’s Paul di Resta was sixth. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was seventh followed by Adrian Sutil from Force India, Felipe Massa from Ferrari and Sauber’s Sergio Perez in tenth.

Lotus Renault struggled today as Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov only managed 15th and 17th respectively. Both drivers sandwiched Team Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen as team mate Jarno Trulli joined Michael Schumacher and Timo Glock in the retirement’s list.

As soon as the start lights went off, all drivers charged to Turn 1 and everyone managed to keep their noses clean with no drama whatsoever. Vettel enjoyed a good start while Webber dropped to fourth from second. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had better starts as he dropped down to seventh after starting from fourth. Just moments after the start, the night race picked up its first casualty as Daniel Ricciardo broke his front wing. Nevertheless the HRT driver pitted and continued racing.

By Lap 6, Vettel was running in first and increasing his lead from Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Rosberg, Hamilton, Schumacher and the two Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and di Resta. Soon drivers started to make their first scheduled stops and the race moved on with minor yellow flags and few incidents including a retirement by Virgin’s Timo Glock when he spun into the barriers at Turn 18.

Moments after both Hamilton and Massa made their stops, both drivers suffered from contact as Hamilton tried to make a move on Massa. That incident resulted in a broken front wing for Hamilton and a rear puncture for Massa. Both drivers had to pit again and that easily dropped them down the grid. A while later, Hamilton received a drive through penalty from the race stewards which pushed him back further.

As Vettel crossed the line on Lap 29, it was Button, Webber, Alonso, di Resta, Sutil, Rosberg, Perez, Schumacher and Hamilton who made up the top ten. A lap later, just when you thought the Safety Car would not be deployed this time around, Schumacher’s Mercedes racer ‘flew’ into the air after his front left tyre came into contact with Sergio Perez’ right rear tyre. The Sauber driver managed to continue racing but Schumacher crashed into the barriers and the SLS was deployed.

After the Safety Car was pulled back in at about Lap 33, Vettel managed to maintain his lead ahead of Button, Webber, Alonso, di Resta, Rosberg, Sutil, Hamilton, Perez and Massa. The Safety Car benefited drivers such as Hamilton who was placed right back into the top eight following his accident and his subsequent penalty. The champion gave a good show as he was carrying out some hair raising overtaking moves.

With five laps remaining, Vettel’s gap against Button was reducing as the latter was able to set faster lap times and the former had to deal with back markers. With three laps to go, the gap was 3.7 seconds but with one lap remaining the gap increased to 5.6 seconds as Button lost a lot time negotiating traffic. The Brit couldn’t do much and Vettel who drove a smooth and clean race crossed the finish line in first.

In the championship standings, Vettel now has 309 points while Jenson Button is second with 185 points, just one point ahead of Fernando Alonso. Red Bull is 491 points strong while McLaren lies second with 353 points and Ferrari in third with 268 points. You can safely expected Vettel and Red Bull to clinch both titles this season but the battle still remains for second place in the Driver’s Championship between Button and Alonso. More will be revealed on 9th October at the Japanese GP.

Click here for the full results.

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Proton, Lotus supporting Lotus-Renault GP in Singapore

September 24, 2011 at 6:28 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports, Proton

We’re here in the Lion City to catch Formula 1′s only night race this weekend, and we’re seeing some familiar sights at Singapore’s Clarke Quay. Proton and its subsidiary Group Lotus, which is of course the title sponsor of Lotus-Renault GP, is making its presence felt in Singapore with a showcase amidst the trendy bars and restaurants of the riverside area.

The showcase features the main star – a Lotus-Renault GP F1 car – flanked by a white Lotus Evora and the sportiest production Proton, the R3 Satria Neo. Besides the machines, there’s a stall selling official LRGP merchandise as well as a Batak Machine.

The latter is a fun activity that tests and trains reflexes and is used as an F1 training simulator as well. Basically, the lights pop up and you hit the button – who hits more in one minute wins. The Batak duel was a big crowd puller among the Clake Quay crowd – I gave it a try as well and realised that my reflexes needed a lot of training!

We missed her, but Miss Universe Australia Scherri-Lee Biggs, Proton’s brand ambassador Down Under, made an appearance as well.

If you’re wondering why Proton is at an F1 race, it’s to support Group Lotus and to benefit from the association with the sports car brand. “It’s not Proton in F1, it’s Lotus. Proton has no business being in F1,” said Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin.

Both him and Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar revealed that the gold “Lotus” name is in among the top 10 most visible brands in Formula 1 (among the many names and sponsors) as tracked by two UK based agencies used by the sport.

They said that brand awareness is what Group Lotus is chasing after, and this brand awareness is crucial to support Lotus’ upcoming new gen of cars, starting with the Esprit in 2013. According to the plan, “when the Esprit comes out, it will come out in a very good environment, says Syed Zainal. “We want to bring the (brand) awareness back to the level seen 25 years ago,” added Bahar, who sounds consistent with his Paris 2010 speech.

As for LRGP, they’re not expecting too much from this weekend, as the R31 is not suited to Singapore’s layout. Team boss Eric Boullier also revealed that they’ve abandoned the updates brought in for this race, namely tighter bodywork and sidepods. It wasn’t a problem with the new stuff, but a problem with water flow for the radiators. Better not to risk it, so it was back to default. The updates will debut in Japan.

Will Sebastian Vettel be crowned world champion for the second time tomorrow? No one dares to bet against that happening, but Alonso and the McLaren boys will be all out to spoil the party, that’s for sure. Enjoy the race!

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Proton at the IRC San Remo Rally – Chris Atkinson returns

September 23, 2011 at 9:59 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Proton is all geared up for the ninth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), the San Remo Rally, which takes place this weekend. Piloting one of the two Satria Neo S2000s will be Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) leader Chris Atkinson, while the other will be driven by double FIA European Rally Champion and former winner of the San Remo Rally, Giandomenico Basso.

Having won three of the rour APRC rounds so far this year, Atkinson currently leads the APRC standings, and requires only to finish when he competes in the following week’s Rally of Hokkaido to seal the 2011 championship. Nontheless, the Australian is focused on the matter at hand as he makes a return for Proton on the IRC circuit – his last outing on asphalt and in the IRC was the Rally of Monte Carlo in January this year.

“It’s great to be back in the IRC again. I’ve done the recce for this event before, but never competed in Sanremo. It’s fair to say that this is one of the events I’ve always wanted to do, being one of the classics and a really tough event. From what I remember some of the stages can be quite technical and then there’s the night stage, which is going to be a big challenge,” Atkinson said.

Meanwhile, Basso was enthusiastic about the upcoming weekend. “I love this rally. It’s a rally that I’ve done plenty of times before and I’ve got some good memories from San Remo. I’ve won it before and I nearly won there last year as well. I love the long stages; I’ve always liked long stages as you really have to think a lot about the car and the tyres over the whole stage – it’s not like the short stages where you just go,” said the Italian.

“This is a rally where experience definitely helps and you need to concentrate very hard because of all the corners. It’s a really technical event that is not easy to master; you have to be really on top of the car. The speeds are not that fast and that makes it more demanding, physically and mentally. Then of course you have the long stage at night, which is a really tough test for everyone.”

The San Remo Rally will be run over 13 special stages in the province of Imperia, with a competitive distance of 225.77km.

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Lotus Renault GP bringing more updates to Singapore

September 19, 2011 at 12:20 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Lotus Renault GP’s season started very well, with two podiums in the first two races and 60 points collected in the first seven races. However, they’ve only added 10 more points in the following six races, which is quite a slump in form. The Enstone based team brought some updates to Monza though, and coupled with the replacing of Nick Heidfeld with Bruno Senna, the team believes it has turned the corner.

The next race, which is the Singapore night race this weekend, will see LRGP fit in the second phase of updates to build on the Monza pack, but technical director James Allison is still apprehensive despite the general mood.

“Monaco and Hungary were not good races for us and Singapore shares some characteristics of these two circuits. We feel we have improved things since then and we have a bit more to deliver for Singapore itself, but it is fair to say that I am apprehensive,” he said.

“However, if we do have a good race then we will be set for good performances in the five races that follow, as we will then have shown improved performance on three very different tracks.”

On the team’s Monza pace, he had this to say. “While far from stunning, it was at least respectable. For two races in a row our car has looked a little more on the pace than in the previous grands prix, and this reinforces our belief that we are heading back in the right direction.”

Allison also thinks that the young Senna is doing great. “Several promising F1 careers have foundered on the rocks of a mid-season introduction in recent year. Under the current F1 rules Bruno has had no meaningful chance to get up to speed in the car away from the pressures of the GP weekend. He had just one session in the R31 pre-season, and he has impressed all of us with the way that he has seized his opportunity first at Spa and again at Monza.”

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MMER: 1-3 finish for Petronas Syntium Team, Audi second

September 19, 2011 at 10:15 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Motorsports

The Petronas Syntium Team Mercedes SLS GT3, driven by Nobuteru Taniguchi, Masataka Yanagida and Dominic Ang, has won the 2011 Malaysia Merdeka Endurance Race (MMER). The sister Gullwing of Tatsuya Kataoka, Fariqe Hairuman and Bernd Schneider finished third. The Mercs sandwiched the Audi R8 trio featuring Le Mans champ Marcel Fassler, Frank Biela and Marco Werner.

Starting from second on the grid during the flag off at noon, Taniguchi/Yanagida/Ang (car 15) has been second best to Kataoka/Hairuman/Schneider (car 28) who started from pole and set the pace with a healthy gap for the first 10 hours. Then disaster struck. With two hours to go on lap 261, the No.28 had a mechanical problem shortly after a routine stop, forcing Schneider to return to the pits.

The Belgian Audi Club’s R8 then took the lead, before SLS No.15 woke up from their slumber to gradually inch their way from fourth position (where they were for most of the race) to second, before stealing the lead at the death. Their cause was also helped when a problem with the Audi forced an unscheduled stop. It was another almost unbelievable scenario for Biela and Werner, who again finished as bridesmaids after suffering disappointment at the hands of Arrows Racing last year.

Taniguchi/Yanagida/Ang stopped the clock at 12:01:57.624 followed by Audi with 12:03:08.113. Both did a record 321 laps, beating the previous record by a whopping six laps. Kataoka/Hairuman/Schneider finished the race six laps behind in 12:02:22.211. The latter eventually claimed third from a Ferrari in the 11th hour after a lengthy time in the pits.

“I am absolutely delighted with this result! It was overall an exciting race with a lot of action on track and a good clean battle with the other competitors. It was also a very closely fought race, one of the closest in many years! For us, this was especially a memorable win, as the team have spent the last 15 months getting this project off the ground,” said David Wong, Team Principal of Petronas Syntium Team.

“We had to two cars for this year’s challenge and the No.28 car was the clear favourite. They were really quick all weekend and had a very good strategy. For the No.15 car our strategy was not to push until the final two hours. We wanted to try to manage the car, protect all the different parts – the drivetrain, transmission and tyres, for example. In the end, the strategy did pay off and I am really happy that we won today,” said Japanese driver Nobuteru Taniguchi.


Click to enlarge results

Petronas’ win was their first GT Class and overall title win since 2009 when Kataoka, M.Orido and Johan Adzmi endured 306 laps of Sepang.

In the Sports Production class, Adrian D’ Silva, Mohd Fahrizal Hasan and Ian Ross Geekie emerged victorious and were seventh overall after completing 277 laps, while ST Powered led by Teh Kian Boon, Aloysius Lek and Desmond Soh romped to victory in the Touring Production doing 274 laps. Their Civic FD2-R was eighth overall.

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