Proton celebrates Scot Rally podium finish
It was a busy weekend for the folks in Proton’s PR department. Having just only returned from the Persona Quest 2009 Southern Region, they had to quickly put together another media event to commemorate Proton’s recent second-placed finish in the Rally of Scotland.
Held at the Sepang International Circuit Welcome Centre, in the face of a brewing thunderstorm, journalists and photographers had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the men behind the wheel – Alister McRae, and his co-driver Bill Hayes.
Speaking on the rostrum, McRae said he was impressed with the natural handling balance of the Neo’s chassis. He said, “There is definitely lots of potential in the car and I foresee it to be the future of World Rallying.”
Okay, we know drivers are trained to speak in favour of their manufacturers and sponsors when faced with the media, but McRae was not kidding with this car’s abilities. We were given a chance to ride shotgun with the man in a 2km long blast through the palm oil plantation next to SIC.
In all honesty, I do not approach taxi rides by race car drivers with the wild-eyed enthusiasm one might expect. I know some might say things like these are the rides of a lifetime and what not, but they just never moved me too much. I also didn’t see the point of putting my bones through another round of jarring.
My turn came nevertheless, and I put on a helmet and hurled myself into the passenger seat – my first ride in a proper rally car. Now, you might imagine it to be very adrenaline-rushing and all, but it wasn’t. And it certainly wasn’t bone-jarring.
Yes, Alister was piloting us at insane speeds and power-sliding within inches of surrounding palm trees, but testament to both the car and driver’s abilities, it felt absolutely safe and serene in there. I’ve sat in scarier roller-coaster rides.
I did not expect this, but it was very comfortable ride, as the suspension not only endowed the Neo S2000 with supreme cornering traction, but also isolated surface undulations (probably an understatement in an oil palm estate) from the cabin very well.
Indeed, from my perspective as a passenger, it certainly made rallying look like a very easy sport, even if we know it’s anything but. Alister probably took things real easy with the car, but there is no doubt that some pretty impressive engineering went into the chassis, as it handled with great poise. Quite a ride.
The Neo S2000 has already participated in more than 15 rallies worldwide, and has been consistently challenging for top ten positions. Proton has plans to go great guns with the Neo S2000 next year, with increased participation in rallies worldwide.
Finally, as a parting shot, we were also told that a newer, more powerful variant of the Neo is in the pipeline scheduled for launch next year. How true, we don’t know. We shall see next year.
