Two DNFs for Proton in Rally of Scotland
The Proton Satria Neo S2000 put up its best performance of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Championship (IRC), but unfortunate luck saw both cars, driven by Alister McRae and PG Andersson failing to cross the finish line at the end. Flagged off at Stirling Castle, the Rally of Scotland had 15 special stages stretched over a distance of 196.96km going past Stirling, Perth & Kinross, and North Lanarkshire.
Having secured the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) Driver’s title to itself, Proton went into the IRC’s penultimate round in high spirits. McRae took his attentions off his APRC campaign to sit in for Giandomenico Basso in his home event, and also returning to the scene where he made his debut for Proton in 2009.
Prior to the race weekend, McRae said, “It’s always nice to come home to compete again…And it’s good to come home with plenty of competitive seat time in the Satria Neo.”
“We had a good result here a couple of years ago, when we finished second in the Proton. The competition is going to be really tough, there’s a good, quality entry for the rally. In October, it’s just possible there could be a wee bit of rain or mist around, just to really spice things up a bit. After that, it’s onto the familiar stages on Saturday and Sunday – and these really are some of the best roads in the world. I know I’m a Scotsman, so I’m possibly a wee bit biased, but Scotland’s a fantastic country and the Rally of Scotland is a great rally to come and watch,” McRae added.
Unfortunately for McRae, this was not set to be a fairy tale homecoming. He was out of the race on the first day after a rock damaged his oil sump at the 17.68km Errochty fifth special stage. At that time, McRae was placed ninth. Team mate Andersson finished the first day 12th overall and 11th among IRC contenders. Andersson was placed as high as third at one stage in the rally, but a costly electrical glitch saw him incur a time penalty.
On the second day, Andersson was closing in on the top ten, but was forced into retirement after a broken driveshaft damaged the crank sensor, which in turn stopped the engine. Winning the rally was 22-year-old Andreas Mikkelsen, who drives a Skoda Fabia S2000. Skoda has been the dominant force in this year’s IRC, this being their third successive win the IRC, and having already secured the Manufacturer’s title. Four Skoda drivers remain in contention for the Driver’s title.
“I really enjoyed driving on these Scottish roads last year, but twelve months ago it was dry and this year the conditions have been so different. The stages this time were wet, muddy and very tricky. It was easy to make a mistake, and I am very pleased to have gone as quickly as we have done this weekend. I’m very proud of what the ŠKODA UK Motorsport team, Ola [Fløene, co-driver] and myself have accomplished here,” said Mikkelsen of his victory.
Final round of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge will be the Cyprus Rally on 3 – 5 November.
Pictures: Official Proton & Skoda release.
