After taking the podium at the Malton Forest Rally last month, the Proton Iriz R5 secured its first competitive victory with the Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM) team over the weekend in the Grizedale Stages Rally, in the hands of Ollie Mellors and co-driver Ian Windress.
The duo were fastest in four out of the six stages, finishing a whopping 22 seconds ahead of Josh Moffett and 49 seconds ahead of Stephen Petch, each driving Ford Fiesta RS WRCs. The team said that it has further developed the car since the Malton Forest Rally, and that the strength of the competition at the event showed just how quick the Iriz R5 is.
“It’s great to be back on the top step of the podium! Ian Windress and I thoroughly enjoyed the Grizedale Stages Rally,” said Ollie Mellors on Facebook. “Thanks to all the team at Mellors Elliot Motorsport for the Proton Iriz R5, it is certainly an impressive car and once again it ran faultlessly.”
The series of impressive finishes bodes well for the Iriz R5 ahead of its entry into the World Rally Championship in the WRC2 category as well as the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) in 2018. In addition to contesting the Malton and Grizedale rallies, the Proton Iriz R5 has also been given a test by rallying legend and double WRC champion Marcus Grönholm in Wales.
Under its skin, the MEM-prepared Proton Iriz R5 boasts a 4B11T turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, albeit with its cylinders sleeved down from 2.0 litres to 1.6 litres to comply with R5 and WRC2 class regulations. It also sports an Xtrac transmission and all-wheel drive system, along with Reiger suspension, Brembo brakes and Cosworth electronics.
GALLERY: Proton Iriz R5
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It needs a Mat Salleh to modify our cars to make it better….means 30 yrs we never learnt a thing
Proton done very well since Geely here .
Then care to explain how a Satria beat the pants out of a Evo, Fiesta & Escort? These 3 which had a pedigree in rallying?
Klau R3 yg buat kerja tu, nnt korang kata bazir duit pulak, buang masa la apa bagai…itu tak kena ini tak kena…
wow! Iriz with evo X engine!
Ugly cockroach!! So disgusting!!
Bravo Proton Iriz. the Game changer!
Well done MEM! Mengharumkan nama Bao Teng di pentas dunia!
Geely > all
Bao Teng > all
congrats Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM)! the power of evo!
Wow. Proton Iriz R5 duo were fastest in 4 out of 6 stages beating some WRC prepared teams along the way !!! Bravo to Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM) team.
There’s nothing iriz about this other than part of its outer shell. Get real.
Haha, wonder why MEM doesn’t choose a Myvi as their choice of car for modification? Try put the EVO engine in a Myvi platform and see whats happen? The harsh and punishing rally route will rip the undercarriage of the Myvi into pieces.
This victory is a testimony of how good the Iriz’s platform is engineered , MEM choose Iriz because of the chassis rigidity and its agility. If you have a bad chassis, it doesn’t matter what engine you stuff in or how much you reinforced the chassis, the result is still mediocre.
Forget it. No matter how factually correct you may be, them haters will never listen.
GEELY will take this as marketing strategies in near future although the everyday IRIZ is totally different with this rally spec one.
Wow.. even my experience test driving IRIZ feels awesome!
never heard of Proton
but i know Bao Teng. or Geely.
the similarity this vehicle to something under Geely is very uncanny
You must have been born yesterday then
Just the body only. Other thgs all changed, even the engine. Nthg to b proud of
The chassis is the same. Try put the EVO engine into a myvi platform and see what happens in this race? Haha
Defeated Focus & Fiesta WRCs, Mini WRC, even Evos. Oso Imps in previous race. Wow!
But next year’s gonna be tough cuz VW works team will enter.
Dafuq! Theres even a Satria there!
Iriz body bagus oh! Irizlution sure tapao Wajalution on the Malaysia road.
Bravo mem and proton,
You are making proton motor sports shine again.
Still waiting for the ahbeng myvi going to the track race
Or ahbeng myvi rally
Car no.16 Satria!
Proton chassis for rally proven
Ada aku kesah.
But still commenting, lol
Certainly not the best looking rally car ever.
Later people will said “ala engine evo can laa..not campro”.. try drop evo engine into myvi and see it split into pieces. its not about engine alone, not drag race la. it is rally, where your car chasis need to be tough enough to handle power, jump drift oversteer understeer mud+lakecrossing bla bla bla
Yup. These basher know nothin about rally cars. They think racing is what they usually play in arcades.
really dont see the point. its a totally different car.
If p1 wins you said diff car, if your overlord wins you said P1 kolos shop
Topkek
Shallow people will look at the superficial. Do you know what determines the rigidity of a car’s structure? The car’s handling ? Its agility? and suspension geometry’s tunning? Not to mention which part of a car forms its backbone and uses most of its R&D effort and resorces (besides the drivetrain)? The answer is the chassis @platform.
This victory is a testimony of how well the Iriz chassis is being engineered. The road going Iriz is one decent drivetrain away to drive on par with the European hatchbacks like Polo and Fiesta, and definitely beats all Japanese in handling department (besides Mazda 2). Dont believe me? Go drive it yourself.
Try put this Evo engine into a Myvi with all the same modification and see what’s gonna happen? I can bet to my last dollar the Myvi will never able to win, even finishing the race is in doubt.
Protong seems to do well in rallies.
But it must translate into genuine car sales volume.
Today,the Iriz is stagnant after the launching of BLOCKBUSTER Myvi.
Protong,u can fool car buyers once…but not the second time.We are very,very intelligent car buyers,u faham? You need a doctorate in rocket science,to comprehend consumer needs?
Yes, we consumers r very intelligent. Deswai Mivi sales becomes stagnant once iriz was launched. Thanks for acknowledging us buyers intelligence.
Yeah P2 cannot fool buyers anymore, if goes in rally, rear axle tercabut at second corner. Malu betul.
Proton is one of the good chassis maker.agree?
Thanks Lotus.
yg baik kita kena puji n yg mana buruk kita boleh condemn..
That’s not an iriz. No such car with the specs in Msia.
Congratulations to MEM!
Give it to whites to make protons dreams come true!
Also, when can we get our hands on a Iriz 1.8gti, manual transmission?
Bring this in and sell in Malaysia.
5 units..
Up for bid.. minimum 499k starting.. hnnghhh
Looks like a cockroach. Horrendous looking chassis. Who designed this metal junk? And use a Mitsubishi engine? Mitsubishi is taking credit for your win.
Technically this is an EVO 1.6 on Iriz body.