Proton aiming for strong APRC season opener in Rally of Malaysia
Bouyed by encouraging results in the 2010 season, Proton is looking to bigger things for the 2011 Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), which begins this weekend with the Rally of Malaysia to be held in Johor Bahru.
Leading Proton’s charge in JB will be the two Satria Neo S2000 rally cars piloted by Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson. They will be flanked by a number of Group N Satria Neo 1,600cc rally cars co-developed by Proton and Cusco. These Group N cars are currently being sold in Japan for competitors participating in the APRC and Japanese Junior Rally Championship.
“Beyond conventional marketing, motorsports provides car manufacturers like Proton what can be defined as emotional leverage; first attracting fans, enticing them to learn more of the brand and product, establishing brand following, and hopefully translating into ownership desire and later brand loyalty,” said Proton Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
“This is extremely important for a relatively small global player like Proton as it allows us to make greater inroads into markets in which we are not yet present or are currently confined to a small representation,” he added.
Head of Proton Motorsports, Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood feels that after a whole year’s worth of testing and development, the Neo S2000 has developed into a highly-competitive vehicle, being vastly improved in terms of its performance and reliability.
“We have proven that the Satria Neo S2000 is a race-winning car, and in the hands of Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson, we are out this year to prove that it is also a championship-winning contender.
“There is nothing more exciting than a home event, and with all the preparation and development we have undertaken, the team looks forward to a strong result at the Rally of Malaysia. Rallying on home ground is not going to be a walk in the park. On the contrary, it is often regarded as one of the most challenging and rough rallies on the APRC calendar,” he said.
In 2010, Proton was placed second in the APRC Manufacturer’s Championship with its best race of the season being a 1-2 victory in the APRC category of the China
Rally. Previously, Proton had also won the APRC title three times in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) 2011
1 – 3 April: Malaysia
13 – 15 May: Australia
17 -19 June: Nouvelle Caledonie
15 – 17 July: New Zealand
30 Sep – 2 Oct: Japan
4 – 6 Nov: China
