Proton secures S-WRC win in Sweden

Proton secures S-WRC win in Sweden

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Bouncing back from a disappointing outing at Monte Carlo, the Proton Motorsports team rallied to its first ever FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) victory in Sweden last weekend. Per Gunnar Andersson finished top in the S-WRC category and was 12th in the overall WRC standings.

Over 24 snowy special stages, Andersson led his class from start to finish, clocking in at 3 minutes 35 seconds clear of Ford’s Craig Breen and 4 minutes 49 seconds ahead of Skoda’s Pontus Tideman. Rally Sweden attracted the participation of 85 entries and covered a competitive distance of 360km over four days.

“We knew that we had a very competitive car at the very start of the season in Monte Carlo and we have proven just that in Sweden. The Satria Neo S2000 was dominant throughout the weekend,” said Andersson.

Andersson, Breen and Tideman were closely locked in the early stages of the rally, but it was in the 20.97km-long eighth special stage where Andersson opened up a 1 minute 25 second lead in the S-WRC class that would stretch to 2 minutes 6 seconds by the end of day one and nine special stages. Things were less rosy for Andersson’s team mate Alister McRae, who got himself stuck in snow 13km into special stage three and unable to continue.

Last weekend’s victory was Andersson’s third in home soil, having previously won the S-WRC here in 2010 and the Junior WRC category in 2006. For Proton, this is the team’s first taste of success in Europe since the Neo S2000’s debut in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in 2009. The team’s best previous finish was second place in the 2009 IRC Rally of Scotland.

“It has been an incredible journey to get here. As we celebrate this moment, I assure you that development work continues to ensure that the Satria Neo S2000 enhances its competitiveness throughout the season. It is still too early in the season and there is still plenty to be done to if Andersson is to make a strong bid for this year’s S-WRC title,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, the Head of Proton Motorsports.

With Monte Carlo and Sweden now over, Proton is due to compete in another three of the seven S-WRC rounds in 2012.

Pictures: Official Proton release.

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