Team Proton R3 To Run S70 R3 At 2024 Sepang 1000km Endurance Race; Driver Line-Up Announced
Team Proton R3, the performance division of PROTON, last week revealed the Proton S70 R3 racing machine which will compete in the 2024 Sepang 1000km Endurance Race in late November. Concurrently, the team also announced its driver line-up for this S1K race i.e. Syafiq Ali and Fahrizal Hasan as the drivers for car number 81, while young racers Alister Yoong and Ariff Azmi will take the wheel for car number 82.
The Sepang 1000km Endurance Race is one of Malaysia’s premier motorsport events. Yet again, Team Proton R3 is aiming to extend its record as the most successful team in the history of the Sepang 1000km, with hopes to secure a 6th victory in this endurance event.
“Motorsports is a major component of PROTON’s DNA and our competition heritage in races and rallies stretches back to the very first Proton Saga. Although we have not competed at the Sepang 1000km the last 3 years, Team Proton R3 has kept up with the latest developments in the racing industry while also consulting closely with their colleagues from the vehicle engineering division. The result has been the speedy development of our new racing car, which will race just one year after the Proton S70 was launched,” said Roslan Abdullah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, PROTON. 
As per its name, the Proton S70 R3 is based on the popular Proton S70 sedan, the country’s top-selling C-segment sedan. However, to meet the race’s Malaysian Touring Car (MTC) class regulations, the Proton S70 R3 will instead be running Proton’s 1.6L CAMPRO naturally aspirated engine paired with a 5-speed manual transmission, instead of the stock 1.5L turbocharged engine which isn’t permitted by the regulations. The CAMPRO engine had proven its worth in previous endurance races by winning them, and is something familiar for the team to work with. There are no details of the power output nor performance yet as the team is still finetuning the car, but it is not wrong to assume there is about 160 hp (or more) available to the drivers.
Since this is an endurance race, the priority is to have reliability and drivability, without breaking the bank. The stock car’s MacPherson strut and torsion beam suspension have been retained and beefed up with performance parts. The race car has also gone through a weight-shedding process with most of the interior stripped for a more race-biased decor. The car shown at the announcement event looks ‘bland’ because there is more work to be done on it particularly in the weight department, as well as the livery (which will be identical to the concept example displayed at the 2024 Malaysia Autoshow). The front splitter, rear spoiler and 15″ alloy wheels that you see will most likely be parts confirmed for the race car.
On the team’s choice of driver pairings, it had decided to bring together a strategic balance of experience and youthful potential. Syafiq Ali, one of the drivers of car 81, holds the record for the most individual wins in the Sepang 1000km race, having secured 3 podium finishes with Team Proton R3. His co-driver, Fahrizal Hasan, meanwhile has achieved considerable success in sportscar racing, with 2 class wins in the Sepang 12-hour race.
On the other hand, car 82 will be piloted by Team Proton R3’s youngest pairing i.e. 21-year-old Alister Yoong and 18-year-old Ariff Azmi. Despite their age, both drivers have strong motorsport credentials. Alister brings extensive single-seater racing experience while Ariff is a multi-title karting champion, and also partnered Alister in last year’s S1K. Notably, both are outcomes of the Axle Sports Academy, founded by Alex Yoong, father to Alister and Malaysia’s only Formula 1 driver.
“Team Proton R3 has a long history of helping to promote the careers of young drivers and giving their profiles a boost by driving with the team. We are excited to be working with such a talented driving team this year that offers us the best chance of lifting the title and adding to PROTON’s record of being the most successful brand in the history of the Sepang 1000km,” added Roslan Abdullah.
