Proton R3 Rally Team chasing podium at NZ
The Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team will be taking their challenge in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship to New Zealand, as the championship enters its third round with the International Rally of Whangarei.
Spearheading the team’s challenge are a pair of Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally cars. One car will be manned by Alistair McRae with co-driver Bill Hayes. The other car will be have Chris Atkinson at the helm navigated by Stephane Prevot.
This weekend, the two-day rally will take its competitors through 280 kilometres of special stages through the districts of Whangarei and Kaipara. Going into the weekend, Atkinson sits sixth in the Driver’s Championship at 15 points, five points ahead of team mate McRae. The team, however, is in a much stronger position, being third in the Manufacturer’s Championship behind Mitsubishi and Subaru.
“It’s been an extremely challenging start for the team after two rounds but we’re hoping to put an end to all the misfortunes this weekend. With further developments made to the car over the last one month, and given the fact that both drivers will be competing on familiar terrain, we’re setting our sights on a podium finish,” said Team Manager Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood.
Pictures: Official Proton release.
