The Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team did well at the recent International Rally of Queensland by winning almost every stage in the rally.
Unfortunately due to technical difficulties, drivers Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae did not finish the event held in the forests of the Sunshine Coast. The Rally of Queensland is part of the 2010 FIA-Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
The rate at which the two were going, they would have surely been on the podium at the very least. The R3 team won 15 out of 18 stages of the entire rally, with Atkinson winning 11 of those. The joy was cut short when Atkinson’s car stalled in a creek crossing whereas McRae retired due to damage sustained to his Neo after going over a large rock on the second stage of the final day.
“Between Alister and me, we were the fastest and won a lot of stages and this shows how good the Proton Satria Neo is. Unfortunately, the water splash stopped us yesterday but we will be back for the next rally ready to win,” said Atkinson. The next APRC round for Proton R3 is the Indonesian Rally on 25-26 September in Makassar.
India’s Guarav Gill in his Mitsubishi won the Rally of Queensland, crossing the line in one minute and 16 seconds, ahead of Australian brothers Glen and Matt Raymond. The second Mitsubishi driver Katsuhiko Taguchi from Japan, came in third.
The Proton R3 Team is second in the APRC’s Manufacturers Championship with 60 points, trailing behind Mitsubishi with 152 points. Subaru is third with 34 points. Taguchi is top of the drivers’ standings with 100 points, followed by Guarav Gill and Alister McRae with 97 and 41 points respectively.
