Proton completes 1-2 finish in China Rally
Proton’s season in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) this year ended in a high, as Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson took their Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally cars to a 1-2 finish in the China Rally held last weekend.
The victory sees Proton assume second place behind Mitsubishi in the APRC Manufacturer’s championship which includes the likes of Subaru, Volkswagen, Suzuki, Honda, Citroen, and Peugeot. McRae himself took third place in the Driver’s Title to mark a memorable debut season for Proton in the APRC.
“This is definitely a great result for both Proton and us. I’ve said it all year long that the Proton Satria Neo S2000 is capable of winning rallies and being on the podium but we have just experienced so much of bad luck throughout the season…To finally prove it in this rally with a one-two finish is just fantastic,” said McRae who was co-driven by Bill Hayes.
On the grueling second day of the rally, McRae started in second place, two minutes behind Cusco Racing’s Hiroshi Yanagisawa. McRae’s break came when Yanagisawa’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X was forced into a withdrawal due to mechanical problems, allowing both McRae and Atkinson to pass. Atkinson himself had a torrid start to the race, having two punctures to deal with on the first day.
“Unfortunately a couple of punctures in Leg 1 cost us the victory but this is definitely a great result for Proton. We pushed as hard as we can and all the way today but when you’re down two to three minutes, it’s not a gap that can be easily reduced,” said the Australian who alongside his brother and co-driver Ben, had taken an early lead in the rally in the first few special stages of Leg 1 only to have all the hard work erased by two punctures.
“It was a good but extremely rough rally but the car performed well and we didn’t encounter a single mechanical issue,” Atkinson added.
The two-day rally attracted the participation of some 44 entries, but at the end of it, only 24 was able to cross the line after traversing 229.19km along the mountainous region and bamboo forests just outside of Longyou city. Casualties included Katsuhiko Taguchi, Gaurav Gill, and Rifat Sungkar.
“We are elated with this victory and it reaffirms the Satria Neo S2000 and Proton’s competitiveness as a manufacturer on the international rally arena. Second is nevertheless rewarding, considering it has been a year which we had declared from the very beginning as being one that is devoted to testing and development,” said Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
“We had a good outing this year based on the level of interest conveyed by both spectators and competitors alike. Such is the popularity of the Satria Neo S2000 that a top Japanese team has also inquired to field a Satria Neo in next year’s Asia Cup category in the APRC,” Dato’ Syed added.
In fact, the two winning Neos weren’t the only Protons in the field. Four Proton Gen.2s also competed in the rally, but wearing Europestar badges. China’s Zhejiang Youngman Passenger Car Group Co Ltd rebadges the Gen.2 for their local market as the Europestar.
