Flying Neos undone by poor luck
The Proton R3 Malaysia Rally Team had every reason to curse their luck over the weekend, as Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae in the Satria Neo S2000 rally cars were forced to retire after both had produced sterling performances and were a hair’s breadth from clinching victory.
Between them, Atkinson and McRae dominated the field winning 15 out of 18 stages of the entire rally – Atkinson winning 11 while McRae won four. Unfortunately, however, Atkinson was forced out of the race after his car stalled in a creek crosing. McRae too went out after damaging his car going over a large rock.
“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.
Winning the rally was Guarav Gill of India who crossed the finish line in his Mitsubishi some one minute and 16 seconds ahead of Australian brothers Glen & Matt Raymond. Fellow Mitsubishi driver Katsuhiko Taguchi took third place.
Said to be the region’s biggest rally event of the year, the three-day Rally of Queensland attracted the participation of 83 cars. The rally began with Coates Hire Rally Shootout at Caloundra, about an hour’s drive north of Brisbane last Friday night, 30 July 2010.
Standings-wise, Proton currently sits second in the 2010 FIA-Asia Pacific Rally Championship manufacturers’ table, sandwiched by traditional rivals Mitsubishi on top and Subaru below. Next up, the APRC heads to Makassar on 25-26 September 2010 for the Rally of Indonesia.
