Lotus Renault GP team tours Proton’s Shah Alam plant
Proton Holdings Bhd today hosted members of the Lotus Renault GP team in a tour of its headquarters in Shah Alam. Nick Heidfeld had to skip this morning’s proceedings due to a mild throat infection, but team principal Eric Boullier was present to lead the team’s entourage which also consisted of Vitaly Petrov and reserve driver Bruno Senna.
Showing the team around the plant was Proton Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir. Also present for the tour was Group Lotus’ Director of Corporate Affairs Gino Rosato and Brand Ambassador Jean Alesi, who took on members of the Malaysian media in a go-kart race earlier this week. (ed: We were there, but neither YS nor KON had luck on their sides…)
“This visit offers the perfect opportunity for Proton to showcase our capabilities as an automotive manufacturer. Furthermore, as partners, it is important to be acquainted about each other’s operations, business strategies and plans. This will also give both parties the opportunity to explore how else we can help each other and benefit from one another,” said Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal.
The tour’s itinerary took Boullier and co to Proton’s R&D facilities where they had a preview of upcoming Proton models and also looked at some of Proton’s recently concept vehicles. They were also shown the production line of the Saga FL. Throughout the visit, members of Proton’s staff also had opportunities to get signed autographs off the team members.
Towards the tour’s conclusion, Petrov and Senna even got themselves involved in the line by performing final checks with guidance from Proton’s quality inspectors on one unit of the Saga FL each and even signed the cars off.
Speaking after the tour, Boullier said, “The involvement in F1 has clearly had a strong and positive impact with the handful of car manufacturers that have been involved in the sport since the early fifties. And with Group Lotus’ involvement in F1, I’m certain that Proton will reap the rewards of this relationship, not least through technical, engineering and marketing opportunities and as a major business platform too.”
When asked to comment a recent statement by Datuk Sri Tony Fernandes alleging that Team Lotus was the only team with ‘Malaysian blood running deep in its veins’, Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal simply noted that it was a ‘business decision’ saying that, “We have never said that we are a Malaysian company going into Formula 1. It is a Lotus association, but obviously as its main shareholder, Proton being a national car company, there is some Malaysian involvement.”
Dato’ Sri Syed Zainal nevertheless noted that Malaysian involvement in Lotus Renault GP will extend even to the technical level as Proton is seconding 19 of its engineers to the team with more to follow in the longer term.
At the end of the tour, the winner of Proton’s Grand Prix VIP Challenge, which ran from 16 to 31 March was announced. Abdul Aziz bin A Wahab, who participated in the contest after servicing his Proton Persona, won himself two Corporate Suite tickets to watch the action live at the SIC on race day.
