According to a report, Italian rally driver Giandomenico Basso has had a test session with Proton Motorsports, and the 37-year-old said he’d seriously consider driving for the Malaysian team in this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
Eurosport reports that Basso drove a Satria Neo Super 2000 on asphalt roads in the Liguria region of Italy last week, and the four-time IRC event winner said he thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“It was very stable and well balanced. We planned to use a road that I am familiar with as a benchmark to see how this car compared with other Super 2000 cars I have driven in the past. Unfortunately, that road was covered in snow so we went to a different road instead. But there was definitely potential with the car and I enjoyed working with the team. They made me feel very welcome, they worked very hard and I was impressed with their approach,” Basso said.
“I would like to come back to the IRC. That is my focus and that is the championship I enjoy. Nothing has been formally agreed, but if Proton propose me something I would think very seriously about accepting it,” he added.
So far, Per-Gunnar Andersson is the only confirmed driver for the Satria Neo S2000 in the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season. Proton has yet to finalise who will run alongside the 30-year-old Swede.
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i hope he will won at the race
Why the need of foreign drivers when Proton can get Karamjit “Flying” Singh.
kudos proton, may this race will bring up proton name. dot waste rakyat money for nothing
tak habis habis rakyat money… its Proton Holdings Berhad… a public listed company with the public as shareholders… unless you are a shareholder of proton… then you can say they are wasting your money… but it is not money from the rakyat in general…
found the video clip on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKA4ZvZXA14
I saw Gen2 as well (not as a rally car of course)
karamjit now already ‘KARAM’ cant compete anymore…and too old….proton dun want waste money for him…
yep….he can’t exploit full potential of that s2000 anymore….
maybe already running out of juice….
(*or was it simply related to how much sponsor the driver could bring into the team in my other guess)
well karamjit may have passed it..but seriously….arent there any drivers of some merit in the local circuit that should be given a chance?..i mean…if they can allow an aged and fairly average italian who may be passed his best ( his best years were also kinda middle of the park) why not give local or at least regional talent (the indons have some good drivers as well) a shot..hmmm..i sometimes wonder if proton picks drivers from a famous motorsport country ( european one at that ) and instantly expect him to perform like the greats from that country…or maybe its our colonial mindset (if he’s white he be extra awesome) er..i dunno…but im really sure there are credible drivers in the region that can give this guys a run for their money .p.s malaysians seem to have excessive amounts of the ‘colonial mindset’..strangely it effects malaysian girls more than the guys….ever notice how gaga they are over their white bf’s despite the fact tat this guys look and behave err..well…. get the point….end……
I’ll try filling in someday, hopefully :)
btw the team that will compete in btcc with persona did a preleminary wind tunnel testing.
http://www.welchmotorsport.com/Gen2_News.htm
can you get more details about it?
The road car is only sardine in shark skin.. the rally car is the real shark.
http://www.iol.co.za/motoring/road-tests/proton-cps-is-a-sardine-in-shark-skin-1.1046672