PROTON Motorsports begins its challenge for the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship glory on next week’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.
After dominating last year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, where PROTON won the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles, the Malaysian manufacturer arrives at one of world motorsport’s most iconic events for a legendary, five-day race through mountains to the principality of Monte Carlo.
The PROTON Motorsports team will field two Satria-Neo S2000s for Rallye Monte-Carlo (January 18-22), the first of seven SWRC rounds it will contest this season.
Two-time FIA Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson and double FIA European Rally Champion Giandomenico Basso will contest the opening SWRC round for PROTON. Both drivers have previous experience of what is recognised as one of the most challenging rallies of the season – and both are raring to get back into the Satria-Neo S2000 for their second year with the team. Both drivers have also finished in the Rallye Monte-Carlo top 10 previously.
Andersson and Basso have been testing the PROTON in the mountains close to the French-Italian border this week, with both drivers reporting significant progress with the Satria-Neo S2000.
PROTON already has a strong history in the World Rally Championship, having won the 2002 FIA Production Car World Rally Championship with Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh, but this year’s SWRC represents a new challenge – a challenge which will bring the Satria-Neo S2000 into competition with some of the strongest rally machinery around.
Rallye Monte-Carlo has a long and illustrious history. First running in 1911, next week’s event is the 80th edition and it looks set to be one of the toughest. The organisers of the rally have ramped up the competitive action, with a route starting from Valence in the Drome region and running through the Ardeche, Haute-Loire, Vercors before ending with a final evening and day in the Alpes Maritimes where the crews will contest the legendary Col du Turini stage twice – including a run at night.
The 18 stages total 433.36 competitive kilometres, which added to the liaison section make up a complete route of 1,772.52 kilometres.
This event is tricky enough, running through some of the most technical and twisty stages of the season, but when you add the Alpine element, then you get probably the most complex rally of the year. Proton will have the choice of five different tyres – more than on any other event this season – in an effort to cover off every conceivable condition from dry to wet asphalt, ice, snow, slush and rain. Sometimes, the crews can get all of those conditions in one stage.
Rallye Monte-Carlo is a true challenge and to come out the other side is a victory in itself.
The event begins with a ceremonial start in Valence at 1900 on Tuesday January 17 and finishes at 1500 on Sunday January 22 in Monaco.
Quotes:
P-G Andersson said:
“As soon as I drove the car at the test, immediately I could feel there was more torque from the engine: the car is definitely a step forward from last year. I am very happy with this! The team has worked really hard. The benefit from these changes with the engine will come from a faster exit from slower corners. At the same time, the car’s handing is also feeling better. But now we have to see what happens on the rally itself. Who can tell what’s going to happen on the Monte? Nobody. Everything is possible next week, but I hope to be looking for the podium result. I really like this rally, but in the past I have made some silly mistakes – I’m determined not to do that. As well as anything, we have to remember that there is no superally this year, so if we retire then we are finished and out of the game. The weather plays such a big part on this event; personally, I like it when we have the changeable conditions, you never know what you’re going to get. I think it’s easiest to make the best result when the roads are like this as well.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“First, I have to say how happy I am to be back with PROTON. I have good times with this team and I like to be driving the Satria-Neo S2000 again this year. We had the good test, everything felt well. I think we have some more small changes before the event, which will also help the car some more. I have good memories of this rally: it was on Rallye Monte-Carlo where I made my debut in the World Rally Championship. I won a competition in 1999 and ended up with an entry on this great event. It’s also nice to be back in the WRC, I haven’t driven in this series for a lot of years. Our test went well, no problems and looking to the event, I think the first priority is to survive the changing conditions. We saw how difficult this event could be last year – I remember leaving the service park on one morning in beautiful sunshine, then we arrived at the stage and it was pure ice! We have to get the tyres right, as well. Make the wrong choice and the rally can be destroyed. It’s really exciting to be back at the start of another season.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“We’re delighted to be contesting the Super 2000 World Rally Championship and we’re also very pleased with the work we’ve done on the Satria-Neo S2000 over the closed season. The drivers are both very happy with what they’ve got for this event, so let’s see what we can do. Obviously we want to be at the front of the SWRC pack, but the priority has to be to get some points on the board on this first round of the championship. The emphasis is on getting to Monaco on Sunday afternoon. But what an event! The first stage? Thirty-six kilometres. Bang, off you go. And it gets harder from there. The weather is looking like it will be very cold, but dry – which would suit us: that’s what we got in the test. If there is any snow, we’ve got that covered as well with plenty of set-up data from previous tests. The whole team is really looking forward to getting back to the World Rally Championship and making a good start in France next week.”
Event data
Round: 1/8, FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship
Based: Valence, France/Monaco, Monte Carlo
Stages: 18
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 1,339.16km
Competitive distance: 433.36km
Total distance: 1,772.52km
Pre-event press conference: Press office, Valence (Tuesday January 17, 1400)
Post-event press conference: Press office, Monaco (Sunday January 22, 1230)
Time difference: France/Monaco is GMT+1hr
Event timetable
Wednesday January 18
Start Valence 0800
SS1 Le Moulinon-Antraigues (36.87km) 0903
SS2 Burzet-St Martial (30.48km) 1021
Service Valence 1246
SS3 Le Moulinon-Antraigues (36.87km) 1421
SS4 Burzet-St Martial (18.94km) 1539
Service Valence 1749
Thursday January 19
SS5 Labatie d’Andaure-Lalouvesc (19.00km) 0933
SS6 St Bonnet-St Julien Molhesabate-St Bonnet (25.22km) 1014
SS7 Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussiere (21.66km) 1137
Service Valence 1257
SS8 Labatie d’Andaure-Lalouvesc (19.00km) 1450
SS9 St Bonnet-St Julien Molhesabate-St Bonnet (25.22km) 1528
SS10 Lamastre-Gilhoc-Alboussiere (21.66km) 1654
Service Valence 1802
Friday January 20
SS11 St Jean en Royans-Font d’Urle (23.28km) 1002
SS12 Cimetiere de Vassieux-Col de Gaudissart (24.13km) 1043
Service Valence 1218
SS13 Montauban-Eygalayes (29.89km) 1511
Parc Ferme Monaco 1956
Saturday January 21
Service Monaco 1315
SS14 Moulinet-La Bollene Vesubie (23.41km) 1508
SS15 Lantosque-Luceram (18.81km) 1554
Service Monaco 1753
SS16 Moulinet-La Bollene Vesubie (23.41km) 1934
SS17 Lantosque-Luceram (18.81km) 2017
Service Monaco 2132
Sunday January 22
SS18 Ste Agnes-Col de la Madone (5.16km) 1011
Finish Monaco 1117
Latest news - December 21st , 2011
2012 season
PROTON Motorsports is delighted to announce it will make a full defence of its multiple FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship titles and contest the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in 2012.
Scotsman Alister McRae will lead the APRC attack, defending the drivers’ title he won at the wheel of a Satria Neo S2000 last month. McRae will be joined in the APRC by two-time Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson (Sweden).
Both McRae and Andersson will form part of the Malaysian manufacturer’s team for the SWRC, the first time PROTON has entered the Super 2000 world series, where they will be joined by Italian asphalt star and double FIA European Rally Champion Giandomenico Basso. Basso, like McRae and Andersson, is a familiar face in the PROTON team, will also spearhead the asphalt test programme.
Andersson and Basso will start the first Super 2000 WRC round Rally Monte-Carlo early next month.
The balance of PROTON’s SWRC programme will include Rally Sweden, Rally New Zealand, Rally Finland, Rally de France, Catalunya Rally and Rally GB.
PROTON Motorsports team principal Chris Mellors said: “It’s great news to have the programme sorted out and to have two major championships to look forward to, with two Satria Neo S2000s in each. The defence of our APRC success is obviously of paramount importance to us, but moving to the Super 2000 World Rally Championship is great for us to show the way the Satria Neo S2000 is developing. We have competed in the IRC for the past few years and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Eurosport and the IRC for providing a fantastic series. PROTON is taking a new direction for 2012, but we are still looking at the potential for running customer cars in the IRC.
“But, for now, we’re fully focused on the Monte for P-G and Giandomenico. This is going to be a really exciting start to what we hope will be a year as full of success as 2011 was. We’re very familiar with the main driver line-up, but as the season progresses we will be trying some different drivers in some of the SWRC rounds.”
FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champion Alister McRae said: “Winning the Asia-Pacific title was one of the highlights of my career and the chance to come back and defend that success with PROTON is fantastic for me. I’ve been with the team for a while now and I’ve seen first hand the determination and professionalism which goes into the development of this team. I’m really looking forward to being part of the programme again in 2012, when hopefully we’ll enjoy even more success!”
China Rally Longyou review
November 6, 2011
Champions PROTON, McRae and Hayes were unbeatable in China
PROTON Motorsports delivered another dominant performance on this weekend’s China Rally Longyou, winning the event and taking five FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship titles in the Satria Neo S2000.
Scotsman Alister McRae was on superlative form to take the Drivers’ title along with the FIA Asia Cup. McRae’s PROTON team-mate Chris Atkinson was second in the overall Drivers’ championship, having already won the FIA Pacific Cup. PROTON won the FIA APRC Teams’ Trophy and the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship Manufacturers’ title.
Having run the fastest cars in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship all season, it was fitting that the year should end with another stunning performance from the Malaysian manufacturer. Between them, McRae and Atkinson won all but two of the 13 tricky stages in the mountains south of Shanghai. At the end of day one, McRae was close to a minute up on his nearest rival after a perfect day at the wheel of his PROTON. A day later, he was celebrating his second consecutive China Rally Longyou win and his first outright FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title.
Conditions on the event were as difficult as anything the PROTON drivers have faced all season, with wet weather – and heavy rain in the days leading up to the start – making the gravel and concrete stages unbelievably slippery. But McRae mastered them. Wearing spectacles to drive in for the first time, the former British Rally Champion was on top form to win six of seven day-one stages. Despite his healthy lead, he pushed again this morning to build an even bigger cushion, before throttling back and driving to the finish.
Atkinson ended the event on a high with four consecutive fastest times on the roads through the Longyou region. Having won three of the season’s six APRC rounds, the Australian was unable to score the fourth maximum he needed in China to take the title from his team-mate.
Having won in Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and now China, the PROTON Motorsports team will now celebrate its most successful season of all.
The Satria Neo S2000 was the class of the field throughout the 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. And, after six of the world’s toughest rallies, the Malaysians stand above everybody to celebrate five APRC title wins.
It’s been an incredible year. It’s been PROTON’s perfect year.
Quotes:
FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champion Alister McRae said:
“As you would expect, Bill [Hayes, co-driver] and I are absolutely delighted with the result – and not just for ourselves, but for the whole team. This is a great result for PROTON Motorsports, for all of the guys working on the programme back in the UK and everybody in Malaysia, we’re proud to have been part of an incredible season of success. On the rally itself, everything clicked for us from the first stage. When that happens, it’s certainly not easy, but everything just flows and works as you would want it to. We pushed really hard on the first day and made some time to build a good lead. As usual, this was a tough rally. It rained quite hard just prior to the rally and on those narrow and tricky stages, it made for a difficult event. But we came through with a tremendous result: one, two in the Drivers’ championship and the Manufacturers’. Winning an FIA championship is a great achievement for me as a driver and for Bill as a co-driver. What a fantastic weekend!”
Chris Atkinson said:
“I’m disappointed not to have won the Drivers’ championship, but in winning three rallies and leading two more APRC rounds this year, we played our part in helping PROTON to win the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ titles. As we expected, this was a tricky event with the conditions and the nature of the stages.”
PROTON Holdings Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said:
“The results in China sum up what has been a challenging, but rewarding year for PROTON. Excelling in competition serves a bigger purpose in that it significantly supports our aspiration in becoming a competitive global car manufacturer. Motorsport is one of several key strategies being pursued to enhance the PROTON brand, especially in markets that we are actively exporting to. In addition, it enables us to promote and increase awareness of the brand, while injecting excitement and providing a platform in which technology and technical know-how can be developed and applied to future road-going models. This has been a remarkable year for PROTON.”
FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Champion Manufacturer team principal Chris Mellors said:
“This is what we came here for. It’s been pretty much the perfect weekend for the team. I think this is what you call a dream result for the team and it’s one we’ve all worked really hard for all season. The conditions were quite tough on both days, with the rain making the roads really slippery and tricky, but Alister came out of the blocks really quickly and got on it from the start. He was quickest at the super special and just went from there. He was wearing glasses for the first time this weekend and being able to see where he was going has made a real difference; maybe we should have sent him to the opticians earlier and saved some of the damage! Seriously, though, as a team, we’re delighted with the result in China and through the year. We’ve won four from six rallies and with both drivers, been the consistent pace-setters through the year. We’ve won everything and we can’t ask for more than that.”
Event data
Round: 6/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Longyou, China
Stages: 13
Surface: gravel/concrete
Liaison distance: 399.75km
Competitive distance: 235.64km
Total distance: 635.39km
Conditions: 12 degrees, wet then drying out
Day one leader: Alister McRae (GBR)
Winner: Alister McRae (GBR)
Rally of Scotland review
October 9, 2011
The PROTON Motorsports team once again demonstrated the development and potential of the Satria Neo S2000 on this weekend’s Rally of Scotland, but suffered misfortune on the penultimate round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge while setting times near the top of the table.
Andersson sets second quickest time through Carron Valley stage.
The Perth-based event was Swede P-G Andersson’s first outing in a PROTON on gravel and the two-time Junior World Rally Champion was immediately on the pace, setting second fastest time and running third overall after two exceptionally tricky runs through the Carron Valley stage on Friday night.
Scottish rally hero Alister McRae was also in the top 10 times on that second stage, but the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship leader’s determined run in front of fervent local support came to an end in SS5, when a stone damaged the sump on the Satria Neo S2000. When the oil light came on, McRae knew his event was run and his chances of repeating his Rally of Scotland second place of two years ago were dashed.
Andersson maintained that pace into Saturday, where he was never out of the top six times on what was one of the most competitive IRC rounds of the season. Arriving in Perth, after the morning’s action, Andersson was fourth, just 3.9 seconds away from a podium place and only just over 30 seconds off the lead. When he went to start the car to move into the control, the car had no electrical power due to a battery problem.
On stage times, Andersson remained an exceptional fourth at the end of Saturday. Unfortunately, he had incurred road penalties due to the battery problem and was classified further down the field. Unperturbed, he was back in the groove as the event moved west for the stages closer to Stirling today (Sunday), but he came unstuck when a driveshaft broke on SS11 and damaged the crank sensor. The engine stopped immediately and Andersson’s stunning run was over.
The PROTON Motorsports team now turns its attentions to the China Rally Longyou, the final round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (November 4-6), where the Malaysian manufacturer will be looking to win an unprecedented five championship titles.
Quotes:
Alister McRae said:
“It was great to be back in Scotland and competing again at home. Unfortunately, despite a really promising start, this wasn’t to be our event. The stages were really slippery, conditions were very tough, but we were inside the top 10 and the car was running well. Just in the Errochty stage we went through a corner and we felt an impact on the bottom of the car, it didn’t feel like anything too dramatic, but then the oil light came on and we switched the car off straight away. We’d caught a stone in just the wrong place and it had cracked the sump and drained the oil. This was really bad luck. It was hard to take, but that was Scotland finished for us. Now though, we look ahead to the final round of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. I’m leading the championship and my team-mate Chris Atkinson is second, the fight is between the two of us and I can’t wait to get started in China.”
P-G Andersson said:
“The car felt really good throughout the rally. The handling is great and, despite some really slippery stages, we were able to push hard and make some good stage times. I was really enjoying the first time driving this car in the forests, but then we had a problem with the battery on Saturday and the sensor on Sunday. Today [Sunday] before we retired, our only other problem was in stage 12 when the screen was covered in so much mud after a big puddle, the wipers couldn’t clear it all straight away – I couldn’t see a thing! It’s good to see that, on the stage times, we were close to the front of the field, the development is paying off and the PROTON is definitely getting faster. There is more work to do with the car, but the team knows that and we’re on it. I liked this rally, the stages were nice and challenging, actually, really challenging in the conditions!”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“I can honestly say, in 30 years of competing in rallying, I have never known such a shocking run of bad luck. After yet another great pre-event test, everybody was really upbeat about the event, then we made a great start with P-G third on Friday night and both cars well inside the top 10, only for us to hit trouble. Alister caught a rock awkwardly and broke the sump, had that been a couple of inches either side, it would have been fine and then P-G stopped with a dead battery – never happened before and happened to us for absolutely no explicable reason. P-G carried on and would have been running fourth, a fantastic effort from him on his first outing in the car on gravel and a real demonstration of what the car’s capable of now. Then a driveshaft fails and while it’s flailing around it smashes the crank sensor and stops the engine immediately. This has been an unbelievable rollercoaster of a season; despite the massive promise again, we have come out of Scotland on a bit of a low, but we’re ready to for the high of an Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title fight between two PROTON drivers in China next month.”
Event data
Round: 10/11, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Perth, Scotland
Stages: 15
Surface: gravel
Liaison distance: 805.86km
Competitive distance: 200.09km
Total distance: 1,005.35km
Conditions: 15 degrees, overcast
Day one leader: Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)
Winner: Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)
Rally of Scotland preview
October 3, 2011
The PROTON Motorsports team will look to build on its FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title-winning form, when it arrives at Rally of Scotland with local hero Alister McRae at the wheel of one of two factory Satria Neo S2000s.
McRae, who now lives in Western Australia, arrives back in his native land with a fine competitive edge and the lead of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Four days ago, McRae was in the Far East contesting and leading Rally Hokkaido with PROTON Motorsports. McRae looked well set for his first APRC win of the year until a puncture halted his progress and cost him two minutes and his hopes of maximum APRC points. Typically, McRae hit back hard on the second day in Obihiro, slashing the gap between himself and the winner to just 8.8 seconds at the finish.
Having gone from Perth (WA, Australia) to Perth (Perthshire, Scotland) via Tokyo, McRae is looking forward to some of the toughest competition of the season. Focused on the APRC this year, this week will be the former British Rally Champion’s first IRC outing of 2011. He’s also looking forward to seeing the Saltires flying, the Haggis cooking and the stunning beauty of Scotland in the autumn.
The Rally of Scotland is the scene of PROTON’s finest hour in the IRC. In his debut season with the team, McRae placed the Satria Neo S2000 second overall on the 2009 event. Since then, the British-based team has worked through a considerable research and development programme with the car, dramatically reducing the gap to the IRC pace-setting machinery.
Joining McRae in the PROTON Motorsports team is IRC regular P-G Andersson. The Swede – a double Junior World Rally Champion – has been pleased with the ongoing development of the Satria Neo S2000 this season and he is looking forward to getting the car into the Scottish forests.
The second half of the IRC season has a heavy asphalt bias and, having been born and brought up on Scandinavian roads shorn of grip either by the winter snows or their loose-surface nature, Andersson’s pace is bound to be a feature of Scotland’s biggest motorsport occasion this week.
And, for the team itself, the Rally of Scotland represents the final leg of a gruelling timetable in which PROTON Motorsports has contested four rallies in five weeks on two continents. Having just arrived back from Japan, the team will relish the day-long road-trip back to base in Bakewell – with not a check-in desk or plate of aeroplane food in sight.
Prior to Rally of Scotland, PROTON Motorsports will spend Wednesday testing in forests close to the town of Callander to fine-tune the set-up ahead of the Stirling Castle start on Friday (October 7) evening.
Quotes:
Alister 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. Rally Hokkaido was a bit of a double-edged sword, really. We were really disappointed not to win the event, we had the speed with the car until we got the puncture, but then we finished second in APRC, which was enough for us to lead the championship with one round to go.
"But now, the focus is on Scotland. We had a good finish 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.
"The new stage on the Friday night is going to be a big challenge to everybody, especially with it running in the dark. 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.”
P-G Andersson said:
“It’s going to be nice to get the car onto gravel, this is the surface where I have more experience of competition. We could see from the times which Giandomenico [Basso] set in Rallye Sanremo last month that the car is getting better and better. And everybody in the PROTON Motorsports team is full of confidence after a very good result in Japan last weekend. I’m sure this will be a good event this week, everybody has talked so much about these stages – I’m really looking forward to getting going in them.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“Scotland is an event the team all enjoy. Having travelled a fair bit this season, it’s good for the guys to come and compete at home – and the competition will be fierce again this week. We come to this rally match-fit after clinching the drivers’ Asia-Pacific title in Japan last week. Obviously, it’s been a while since P-G was in the car on gravel, but he’ll have a good opportunity to get some valuable set-up work done at the test on Wednesday. We’re really pleased with the way the development of the car is going now and we’ve shown that we’ve cut the gap dramatically [to our rivals] on recent asphalt rounds of the IRC.”
Event data
Round: 10/11, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Perth, Scotland
Stages: 15
Surface: gravel
Liaison distance: 805.86km
Competitive distance: 200.09km
Total distance: 1,005.35km
Pre-event press conference: Press office, Perth (Friday October 7, 1500)
Post-event press conference: Press office, Perth (Sunday October 9, 1900)
Event timetable
Friday October 7
Start Stirling Caste 1900
SS1 Carron Valley 1 (8.36km) 1945
SS2 Carron Valley 2 (8.36km) 2010
Service Perth 2216
Saturday October 8
SS3 Craigvinean 1 (16.54km) 0920
SS4 Drummond Hill 1 (13.16km) 1045
SS5 Errochty 1 (17.68km) 1210
Service Perth 1454
SS6 Craigvinean 2 (16.54km) 1615
SS7 Drummond Hill 2 (13.16km) 1740
SS8 Errochty 2 (17.68km) 1852
Service Perth 2045
Sunday October 9
SS9 Carron Valley 3 (8.61km) 0908
SS10 Loch Chon 1 (9.91km) 1052
SS11 High Corrie 1 (27.08km) 1110
Remote service Callander 1228
SS12 Loch Chon 2 (9.91km 1337
SS13 High Corrie 2 (27.08km) 1355
Service Perth 1620
SS14 Scone Palace 1 (2.76km) 1650
SS15 Scone Palace 2 (2.76km) 1712
Finish Scone Palace 1724
Rally Hokkaido review
October 3, 2011
The PROTON Motorsports team stands on the verge of its most successful season ever, following another exceptional performance on last weekend’s Rally Hokkaido which has guaranteed the Malaysian manufacturer the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title.
The question still to be answered on the final round, the China Rally Longyou (November 4-6), is which of the two PROTON drivers will take the title; will it be current APRC series leader Alister McRae or his team-mate Chris Atkinson?
Both McRae and Atkinson set a blistering pace through the Rally Hokkaido stages last weekend, with the Scot collecting bonus points for setting the most fastest stage times on the penultimate APRC round.
It took until late in the first day before any of PROTON’s APRC rivals could find a way to beat the Satria Neo S2000 to a fastest stage time. Atkinson led the Obihiro-based event from the start, but was forced to give best to McRae after the Scotsman's stunning time through the fourth stage – almost a second per kilometre faster than his nearest non-PROTON rival.
McRae suffered a puncture two stages later and was forced to stop and change the flat front-left. Having dropped more than two minutes, McRae fought back magnificently through the second day, to end the event just 8.8 seconds short of victory.
Australian Atkinson’s hopes of victory in Hokkaido were spoiled when his Satria Neo S2000 lost oil on stage nine. For the first time this season, the man who has won three of the five rounds run so far does not lead the title race.
Beyond the drivers’ championship, PROTON continues to lead the manufacturers’ title race. PROTON will collect the Team Trophy and, most likely, the Asia Cup in Longyou next month. Atkinson has already won the Pacific Cup.
With one round remaining, PROTON Motorsports looks well set to secure all five of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship titles it embarked on at the start of the season.
Quotes:
Alister McRae said:
“The puncture was pretty disappointing, but the upside was the speed we showed on this rally. I’m pretty confident we would have had the performance to take maximum APRC points here without that [puncture]. The car was great during the event; we had no problems. You can really see where the development is coming and the potential of the PROTON is being unleashed. What I was really pleased with is that the roads here in Japan probably suited the turbocharged Group N cars more than they did our car, but we showed that we had the pace to beat them. Now we go to China for what’s going to be a great fight between myself and Chris. Before that, though, it’s back home to Scotland for me, for the Rally of Scotland. It’s nice to be arriving as the leader of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship – and really nice to arrive with some solid seat time just a few days earlier.”
Chris Atkinson said:
“We were having a great battle with Alister when the car started to lose oil. There was nothing we could do. It’s really disappointing to have lost the lead in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, but at the same time it’s set-up a real thriller in China between Alister and I.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“To know we have the drivers’ championship in the bag is tremendously satisfying, especially to do it with one round remaining. The car is coming on leaps and bounds. We struggled here in Hokkaido 12 months ago, but this year, for me, there’s no doubt that Alister would have won without the puncture. Both the guys, Alister and Chris, were absolutely flying here in Japan. Alister won plenty of stages and even set some new stage records, which demonstrates how well the car is working. And now we go to China with all to play for. And the drivers will be free to fight on that event.”
Event data
Round: 5/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Obihiro, Japan
Stages: 19
Surface: gravel
Liaison distance: 777.72km
Competitive distance: 222.89km
Total distance: 1,000.61km
Day one leader: Katsuhiko Taguchi (J)
Winner: Taguchi (J)
Rallye Sanremo review
September 25, 2011
PROTON Motorsports team principal Chris Mellors says Rallye Sanremo, which ended in Italy last night, represents the Satria Neo S2000’s most competitive outing in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge to date.
PROTON driver Giandomenico Basso was running at the front of the field from the start of one of the season’s most popular – and competitive – events on Friday afternoon. The double FIA European Rally Champion’s time on the opener was just 7.6 seconds off the fastest time on the twisty roads high in the Ligurian Alps. On stage two he lowered that gap to just 2.8 seconds – and beat current IRC series leader Jan Kopecky’s factory Skoda on the Bajardo test.
Basso remained in the thick of the fight until the fearsome 44-kilometre Ronde stage late in Friday night. Basso didn’t hear a pace note call from his co-driver Mitia Dotta and they went off the road at a junction, damaging the right side of the PROTON. They lost four minutes getting through the stage, dropping out of the top 10 for the first time on the final asphalt rally of the IRC season.
With the car fixed, Basso was immediately back in the grove the next morning and began reeling those ahead of him in. By the end of the event, he was back in the top 10 after further demonstrating the pace of the PROTON on one of the twistiest and toughest rallies of the season.
Basso’s team-mate Chris Atkinson retired early in the event with an electrical issue on his Satria Neo S2000.
Buoyed by the speed shown in Sanremo, the team heads east for the next round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, Rally Hokkaido, which starts on Friday (September 30).
Quotes:
Giandomenico Basso said:
“Apart from the problem we had on the dark stage, this rally was very good for the team. We have made good progress with the car again. On Friday afternoon we were right there and able to make some very good stage times. We got back to the top 10 after the problem, which was good, but we could have finished higher up.”
Chris Atkinson said:
“It was a huge disappointment to stop early in the event. We’d had a good test, the recce had gone well and we were really looking forward to the rally. Unfortunately, this is the sport times. Fortunately for me and the team, we don’t have time to dwell on this: it’s straight on to Japan for Rally Hokkaido for all of us.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“This was undoubtedly one of our strongest events from a pace perspective. As Chris [Atkinson] has said, losing his car so early was very disappointing and very frustrating. I’m very confident he would have gone really well on this event – especially given the pace Giandomenico was showing. It’s that speed which is the real positive for us here in Italy. We’ve been analysing the split times and the data from the car and we can see the work we’ve done on the engine is really paying dividends. On uphill sections, where we would possibly have dropped time on previous rallies, we’re right there with the rest of them. Compared with 12 months ago, we have come a very, very long way with this car and that’s testament to the effort from the team in Malaysia and the guys back at base in the UK. Everybody works 24/7 for us and when you have moments like the second stage – when he was a couple of seconds off fastest – it’s some payback for that effort. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting very close now.”
Event data
Round: 9/11, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Sanremo, Italy
Stages: 13
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 298.33km
Competitive distance: 225.77km
Total distance: 524.10km
Conditions: 20 degrees, sunny
Day one leader: Freddy Loix
Winner: Thierry Neuville
Rallye Sanremo preview
September 16, 2011
Rallye Sanremop review
September 20, 2011
PROTON Motosports driver Chris Atkinson will return to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for next week’s Rallye Sanremo as preparation for what could be the biggest moment of the Australian’s rally career one week later.
Atkinson has dominated this year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, winning three from four rounds of the series, and is well placed to seal the FIA title for the Malaysian manufacturer on the Rally Hokkaido, which starts in Japan on September 30. Next week’s Rallye Sanremo will be the perfect opportunity for the Queenslander to hone his competitive instinct.
PROTON Motorsports’ regular driver Giandomenico Basso will partner Atkinson in Sanremo.
Rallye Sanremo will be Atkinson’s second IRC outing of the year and, after a season of travelling around the Asia-Pacific region, racing through the Ligurian Alps will feel like home for the Monaco-based driver. Atkinson and Basso will make a formidable team for the next IRC round, with double FIA European Rally Champion Basso a former winner of his home round of the series.
As has often been the case in teaming up an IRC programme with its FIA APRC commitments, the PROTON Motorsports team will be doing plenty of travelling in the next month. Hours after crossing the finish line in Sanremo, the team will be packing up and flying east for Hokkaido. And on the completion of the Japanese event complete, PROTON will return to Europe for Rally of Scotland, meaning three rallies on two continents in three weeks.
The team will test in Italy early next week, finalising the set up for the two Satria Neo S2000s ahead of the final asphalt round of the 2011 IRC.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“It’s great to be back in the IRC again. I’ve done the recce for this event before, but never competed in Sanremo. It’s fair to say that this is one of the events I’ve always wanted to do: it’s one of the classics and a really tough event. From what I remember some of the stages can be quite technical and then there’s the night stage, which is going to be a big challenge. I haven’t competed for a while now, so I’m really keen to get back in the car, especially on asphalt as I haven’t driven on that surface since January. Competing in Sanremo will definitely help me for the following week in Japan. There’s nothing like time in the car to keep you sharp. The competition in IRC will be really tough as usual. Those boys have been out racing pretty much every other week and that really gets you on the ball as a driver. I’m pretty fortunate having a team-mate like Giandomenico [Basso], he’s got plenty of knowledge on setting the car up on these roads and for tyre choice if the weather closes in.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“I love this rally. It’s a rally that I’ve done plenty of times before and I’ve got some good memories from Sanremo. I’ve won it before and I nearly won there last year as well. I love the long stages; I’ve always liked long stages as you really have to think a lot about the car and the tyres over the whole stage – it’s not like the short stages where you just go. There’s a really special atmosphere to Sanremo; it’s a great place to be in a rally car. This is a rally where experience definitely helps and you need to concentrate very hard because of all the corners. It’s a really technical event that is not easy to master; you have to be really on top of the car. The speeds are not that fast and that makes it more demanding, physically and mentally. Then of course you have the long stage at night, which is a really tough test for everyone. It’s a great rally and this week we want to see our guests from Malaysia encouraged by what they see.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“Rallye Sanremo really is one of the great events of the season. The fans out there are incredible, so passionate and so dedicated to their sport, it’s a pleasure to go and compete in an atmosphere like that. We’ve had a season of highs and lows so far and the issues we had on the previous IRC round in Hungary were really quite strange, certainly nothing we’d experienced before. We put that behind us and move on. It is a very busy time coming for the team, with three events in quick succession – those rallies bring plenty of opportunity – and even more air miles!”
Event data
Round: 9/11, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Sanremo, Italy
Stages: 13
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 298.33km
Competitive distance: 225.77km
Total distance: 524.10km
Pre-event press conference: Press office, Sanremo (Thursday September 22, 1730)
Post-event press conference: Press office, Sanremo (Saturday September 24, 1900)
Time difference: Italy is GMT+1hr
Event timetable
Friday September 23
Start Sanremo 1320
SS1 Coldirodi (13.06km) 1354
SS2 Bajardo (7.36km) 1433
SS3 Bignone (10.59km) 1451
Service Sanremo 1531
SS4 Coldirodi (13.06km) 1650
SS5 Apricale (17.43km) 1712
SS6 Bignone (10.59km) 1739
Service Sanremo 2129
SS7 Ronde (44.00km) 2233
Service Sanremo 2350
Saturday September 24
SS8 Colle Langan (20.57km) 1016
SS9 Passo Teglia (18.80km) 1053
SS10 Colle d’Oggia (15.47km) 1202
Service Sanremo 1302
SS11 Colle Langan (20.57km) 1516
SS12 Passo Teglia (18.80km) 1600
SS13 Colle d’Oggia (15.47km) 1709
Finish Sanremo 1823
Canon Mecsek Rallye review
September 12, 2011
The PROTON Motorsports team is now looking forward to demonstrating the potential of the Satria Neo S2000 on Rallye Sanremo later this month, after a couple of freak engine faults sidelined the cars on the Canon Mecsek Rallye which finished in Hungary yesterday (Sunday).
Both drivers P-G Andersson and Giandomenico Basso had enjoyed a positive pre-event test with the Malaysian manufacturer, but when the competition on the latest round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge got under way, they hit trouble on the first of two days.
There was frustration within the PROTON Motorsports team after the drivers weren’t able to capitalise on the pace which has shot the Satria to the top of this year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. Running out of Pecs, Hungary’s fifth largest city and into the Mecsek mountains close to the Croatian border, Andersson and Basso were looking forward to the event. New to the IRC for this year, the Canon Mecsek Rallye would have provided a level playing field for the crews, none of whom had competed on the fast asphalt lanes previously.
Unfortunately Andersson suffered a cambelt-related issue in SS6, having already damaged a wheel on the rally’s second stage. Basso departed near the end of the opener with a problem linked to the oil filter.
Attentions now turn to Rallye Sanremo (September 22-24), a 23-hour event which runs through the mountains behind the beautiful host town of Sanremo. Always one of the most popular rallies of the season, the dash around the Italian Riviera is particularly popular with Basso, who won his home round of the IRC in 2008.
Quotes:
P-G Andersson said:
“I hit a kerb on the second stage, which damaged the left-rear wheel on the car. I stopped to try and change the wheel, but it wouldn’t come off. We kept driving and eventually we could get it off. That cost us a lot of time and any chance of a result. The impact had damaged the transmission as well, so the team had to get the rear differential changed in service as well. Unfortunately, we retired later with a small problem with the engine. This was a very frustrating event.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“We were very much looking forward to this rally after our test had gone well. Everything was moving in a good direction with the car after the last round in Czech Republic. We were in a very fast section near the end of the first stage when the engine seized, it’s a real shame – the stage had gone well and we I think things were looking good on this event.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“I have to say, as a team we’re devastated by what’s happened here in Hungary. We came here on good form, having done more work on the car and we’ve been ruled out by two relatively simple engine problems. It’s massively frustrating and these problems have spoiled the potential we had prior to the event. The team will now go back, regroup and come back stronger in Sanremo later this month. Onwards and upwards; we will fight on.”
Event data
Round: 8/11, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Pecs, Hungary
Stages: 14
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 537.43km
Competitive distance: 251.86km
Total distance: 820.69km
Conditions: 24 degrees, sunny
Day one leader: Andreas Mikkelsen (NOR)
Winner: Jan Kopecky (CZ)
PROTON SCORES PERFECT ONE-TWO IN NEW ZEALAND
International Rally of Whangarei review
July 17, 2011
PROTON Motorsports’ domination of this year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship goes on. Satria Neo S2000 drivers Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae finished first and second in the APRC standings on the International Rally of Whangarei, which ended in New Zealand today.
Atkinson (Australia) has now won three from four APRC rounds this season and now holds a 21-point advantage over McRae (Great Britain) in what is looking increasingly like an all-PROTON fight for this year’s drivers’ title. The nearest non-PROTON driver is now 46 points adrift in third.
PROTON’s position at the top of the manufacturers’ standings is looking equally strong, following the Malaysian firm’s perfect one-two score on what was one of the toughest, longest and most arduous rounds of the series.
The local competition on New Zealand’s north island is tougher than anywhere else in the championship, with highly rated Kiwi Hayden Paddon providing the sternest challenge to the PROTONs.
Atkinson drove magnificently through wet conditions on yesterday’s opening leg (Saturday) to arrive at evening service with a 6.2-seconds advantage from Paddon, with McRae in the thick of the fight in third.
Atkinson’s only issue yesterday was running a harder tyre than he thought necessary, while McRae suffered a broken intercom mid-way through the second run at the event’s longest stage (SS6, Bull, 40.63km) and felt he should have taken a narrower Michelin in the morning.
Today, however, was all about Atkinson. Fastest on the first three stages of the day, the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship leader demonstrated the stunning pace he’d used to such devastating effect to win in Malaysia and New Caledonia earlier this season.
In total, Atkinson won five from eight Sunday stages to seal what he described as his most satisfying win of the season.
Even the New Zealand weather, which had been wet for the week prior to the event, improved as the Queenslander closed on victory over local ace Paddon, who had won this event three times before.
McRae’s hopes of clinching his first win of the season went south when he spun on the opener this morning and then discovered a minor water leak on the final loop of stages. After such a dominant performance the Scotsman was so far ahead of his nearest APRC competition, he could afford to ease off through the event’s final two stages and still ensure PROTON of its historic one-two on the FIA-qualifier.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“This has been a fantastic rally. These roads really are the best in the world. They give you so much confidence all the time. Even in the tricky conditions, in the heavy rain we had, you know you can still push on down these stages. They’re so good to drive and to fight on. Yesterday, we didn’t have the right tyre; I think we could have run the soft compound, I struggled a little getting the heat into the tyre. But today, it’s been perfect. We were fastest this morning and, once I knew I could contain Hayden [Paddon], the focus was on doing just that all day. Like I said, these rallies reward an attacking style and I felt I could have gone quicker if I needed to today, which is also good for my confidence as a driver. It’s been a fantastic team performance. This event really shows how good the car is and how hard the team has worked in the last 12 months. A year ago, Paddon was beating us by 30 seconds or a minute in places, but this time around we’ve really shown what the PROTON is capable of. Winning in a place like this, where the competition is always given such a hard time by the really good local drivers, means a huge amount to me – it’s also pretty good for the championship!”
Alister McRae said:
“We came here looking to take some points off Chris [Atkinson], but that hasn’t really worked out. I have to hand it to him on this event, he has driven very, very well. We had a few niggling things, like the wrong tyre, the intercom and the spin this morning, but even with a clean run I think we would have struggled to get past him. Even though we had mixed fortunes on this event, I’ve really enjoyed the rally – you always do on these roads – and we’ve shown again the good steps we’ve taken with the car. The big thing here is the one-two in APRC for PROTON, that’s a great result for us and it’s only going to help for the manufacturers’ title. As for the drivers’ title, it looks like that could be between Chris and myself. I’m certainly not about to give up, we’re still in there fighting and we go to Japan and the next round looking to get ahead of him and set up a thriller of a final round in China.”
Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood (Head of PROTON Motorsports) said:
“This has been a fantastic result for PROTON and a further testimony to the Satria Neo S2000 coming of age in international rallying. Tremendous effort has gone into the development of the car and it’s incredibly rewarding to see the hard work beginning to pay huge dividends.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“This is what all the hard work is about, weekend’s like these: the perfect result for PROTON Motorsports. Everybody has worked so hard for this and it’s all come good. Beyond a small water leak on Alister’s car right at the end, there’s been absolutely nothing [wong] with the cars all weekend; we haven’t put a spanner on them. The conditions were quite tricky. We had some torrential rain, which made the roads really slippery, but Chris [Atkinson] and Alister [McRae] drove brilliantly. Neither of them put a mark on the car and they finished one-two in APRC, nobody can ask for more than that, like I said: it’s perfect. I think this result really shows the way the development of the car is coming along as well; look where we were last year, struggling to match some of the local drivers and this time we have come along and beaten them. A good weekend.”
Event data:
Round: 4/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Whangarei, New Zealand
Stages: 16
Liaison distance: 398.76km
Competitive distance: 301.90km
Total distance: 700.66km
Conditions: 15 degrees, rain
Day one leader: Chris Atkinson (PROTON)
Winner: Chris Atkinson (PROTON)
The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Malaysian Rally (April 1-3)
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)
Rally of Whangarei preview
July 8, 2011
After dominating the first half of this year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, PROTON Motorsports heads to New Zealand for next week’s fourth round of the series in the lead of the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships.
The International Rally of Whangarei will plunge PROTON drivers Chris Atkison and Alister McRae into the middle of a Kiwi winter, but they don’t mind in the slightest. The North Island roads which make up the fourth round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship are, quite simply, some of the best on the planet. The heavily cambered stages allow the drivers to slingshot their cars through the corners, carrying more speed than ever before.
And, this being the sports-mad nation of New Zealand, the town of Whangarei really… goes to town when the rally arrives.
PROTON Motorsports scored a second place on this event last year and is desperate to place one of the two factory Satria Neo S2000s on the top step of the podium at the end of 16 gravel stages. While the road surface is smooth and generally kinder to the cars than in some other countries, two runs through the 40-kilometre Bull stage – and more than 300 competitive kilometres across the two days – ensure this event will be anything-but easy.
New Zealand is a fearsome place to come for any sporting contest – just ask any of the 19 teams heading to the Land of the Long White Cloud to face the legendary All Blacks in September’s Rugby World Cup. And in a town which will host some of that Rugby World Cup action, the battle for the International Rally of Whangarei will be just as fierce next week.
With two wins from three starts this season, Atkinson is ready for the battle ahead. The Australian could have arrived with a 100 per cent record, after dominating the early stages of APRC round two in his Queensland, Australia backyard. Atkinson’s team-mate McRae is also well-acquainted with winning, having taken success on the closing round of the 2010 series in China. Both PROTON Motorsports drivers are in with very good chance of taking this year’s coveted APRC title and no quarter will be given when they get started in New Zealand.
The Satria Neo S2000 has demonstrated devastating pace throughout the first half of this year’s APRC, courtesy of upgrades to the car from the Malaysian manufacturer, but the weather remains a factor which could upset a formbook favouring PROTON. Typically, temperatures range between five and 15 degrees in the Northland area of New Zealand at this time of the year, but rain can arrive in a moment, varying the conditions greatly from crew to crew.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“We arrive at this event on a high, having won last time out in New Caledonia and leading the championship. But, once this next event gets going, nothing else matters. The roads in New Zealand definitely favour the Super 2000 car. Cars like our PROTON are really at home in the fast and flowing corners, like the ones on the North Island roads. One of the areas where the PROTON works really well is in the weight transfer over the top of the road; because the cars is quite light, you can move it about more than with a heavier Group N car. Plus, if you do get on the wrong side of the camber, it’s a little bit easier to get back than a Group N car. I love the roads in New Zealand, they’re fantastic; they really reward attacking driving. The other good thing is that there’s nothing between you and a good time: the roads are so smooth, it’s pretty unusual to have a rough section on this event. The competition from the local drivers is always really tough on this event and this year will be no exception.”
Alister McRae said:
“These are classic stages. Names like Waipu Gorge and Batley are well known around the world for their tough nature, but also for the rewards they offer a driver who can get them right. I can’t wait to get started. The car’s feeling better and better this year and we’ve definitely got some more speed from it. That speed has come from the suspension and engine work the team has been doing since the start of the year. The new suspension has made the car more driveable, while giving better traction and feeling for the road. The engine has also improved driveability, with more power from lower down. Getting these things sorted has allowed us to spend more time fine-tuning things like the differential set-up and other things like that, which also make the car quicker. I would say the car has the pace to win everywhere this year and we’re now getting the kind of consistency which can make that happen. We’re going to be quicker in New Zealand this year than we were last year, because the car’s had another 12 months’ of development. Chris [Atkinson] and I will certainly be starting the event looking at nothing less than a win – as we do with every event.”
Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood (Head of PROTON Motorsports) said:
“After winning in New Caledonia, we are naturally upbeat about our chances in New Zealand, but we remain mindful that the competition and conditions will be very tough. There are 76 teams confirmed for this rally, and our fellow APRC competitors as well as some of the local wildcards have the ability to win as well. However, we are quietly confident with the progress in our development of the Satria Neo S2000 as well as the excellent driving form shown by Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae. We finished second last year and we hope for better results this year.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“We have made a number of changes to the car from the start of the year and all of them are taking us in the right direction. You only have to look at the times the car is doing in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) against the cream of the Super 2000 factory cars to see how close we’re getting. We’re down to fine-tuning with the Satria now; it’s very exciting to see where the car is now and where it’s going to be in the very near future. We have a huge amount of potential. What can I say about the drivers? We have a world-class pair in Alister [McRae] and Chris [Atkinson]. They’re both exceptionally quick and capable of winning the International Rally of Whangarei. We come here having finished first and third on two of the three APRC rounds so far this year, it’s be nice to go one better and take our first one-two in Whangarei. Like every year on this rally there’s going to be some tough local competition out there this year, but we’re going out there to give the – rugby – ball a kick.”
Event data:
Round: 4/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Whangarei, New Zealand
Stages: 16
Liaison distance: 398.76km
Competitive distance: 301.90km
Total distance: 700.66km
Shakedown: Pohe Island (Friday July 15, 1000-1200)
Pre-event press conference: Media centre, Whangarei (Friday July 15, 1430)
Post-event press conference: Media Centre, Whangarei (Sunday July 17, 1600)
Time difference: New Zealand is GMT+12 hrs
Event timetable:
Friday July 15
Ceremonial start – Cameron Street, Whangarei 1700
Saturday July 16
SS1 Brooks 1 (13.60km) 0853
SS2 Bull 1 (40.63km) 0926
SS3 Cassidy 1 (23.75km) 1024
SS4 Whangarei Super Special (1.50km) 1127
Service – Whangarei 1137
SS5 Brooks 2 (13.60km) 0853
SS6 Bull 2 (40.63km) 0926
SS7 Cassidy 2 (23.75km) 1024
SS8 Whangarei Super Special 2 (1.50km) 1127
Sunday July 17
SS9 Waipu Caves 1 (21.47km) 0748
SS10 Waipu Gorge 1 (10.99km) 0831
SS11 Batley 1 (20.06km) 0854
SS12 Wairere 1 (18.95km) 0932
Service – Whangarei 1040
SS13 Waipu Caves 2 (21.47km) 1203
SS14 Waipu Gorge 2 (10.99km) 1246
SS15 Batley 2 (20.06km) 1309
SS16 Wairere 2 (18.95km) 1347
Finish – Whangarei 1455
The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Malaysian Rally (April 1-3)
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
International Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)
Rallye Nouvelle Caledonie review
June 20, 2011
DOMINANT PROTON ONE-TWO IN FIA ASIA-PACIFIC CHAMPIONSHIP
PROTON Motorsports dominated Rallye Nouvelle Caledonie, which finished in Noumea yesterday (Sunday). The Satria Neo S2000 proved unbeatable for the second FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship round this year. Chris Atkinson (Australia) and Alister McRae (Britain) finished first and third in the Pacific island event and are now one-two in the APRC standings – with PROTON leading the manufacturers’ title race.
Atkinson and PROTON made a big splash winning in the Pacific last weekend
After making the perfect start to the APRC season with a winning double podium on the Malaysian Rally, PROTON was aiming for a repeat of that performance on the 19-stage event. And Atkinson and McRae duly delivered.
Atkinson’s second victory of the year – and PROTON’s third win from the last four APRC rounds (including McRae’s APRC win on the China Longyou Rally, the final round of the 2010 series) highlighted the performance and consistency of the Satrias.
New Caledonia was always going to be one of the biggest challenges for the PROTON Motorsports team this season, with Atkinson only having competed there once before and McRae never having travelled to the island rally. The notoriously fickle weather delivered plenty of rain just before the start of the event, leaving the switchback dirt roads extremely muddy and slippery for the region’s finest and fastest rally drivers. And PROTON, Atkinson and McRae proved to be finer and faster than the rest.
Atkinson built a comfortable lead at the front of the field and rarely looked troubled as he progressed to his second success in this year’s series. His win on the beautiful Pacific island is enough to return him to the lead of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship drivers’ table. The Queenslander is 10 points ahead of McRae, who completes a PROTON’s perfect one-two in the mid-season table.
With three rounds down and three to run, PROTON Motorsports is enjoying huge success in this year’s series – the most important and highest profile in the Asia-Pacific region. Beyond the drivers’ race, PROTON is also leading the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship for Manufacturers and the APRC Teams’ Trophy.
The next event for the PROTON Motorsports team is the Geko Ypres Rally round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which starts in Ypres, Belgium on Friday (June 24). The team’s next FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship round will be the International Rally of Whangarei (July 15-17) in New Zealand.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“Finding a good rhythm and a good pace on these roads was really important on this rally – and we were able to do that pretty quickly. The roads were really wet to start with, but they did dry out. In some ways that made it harder because when you went under the trees, it was damp again and you had to be really careful in these sections: there was no grip at all. This rally was definitely one of the toughest I’ve ever done, harder than most of the rounds of the World Rally Championships I’ve competed on; as the conditions were drying, it felt like no two corners had the same sort of grip level. Scoring our second win from three rounds shows how quick the car is and how much performance we have there. It also makes it more frustrating that we had the problem on the second round in Queensland, we were leading when we went out of that event – we could have been here sitting on three wins! Apart from a broken driveshaft on the first day, which was a strange problem – one we've never had before, everything went to plan on this event. This was a great result – and another one to make PROTON proud.”
Alister McRae said:
“Not competing here before made this a tricky rally for me. I enjoy the challenge of these new events, but the rain that had fallen before the start of the rally made these roads incredibly difficult. The surface of the road is quite clay-like, so, as you would expect, as soon as it got wet, there wasn’t too much grip around. We had some punctures during the event which cost us a time, but to come away from the event with third place was good news, it keeps me right in the race for the title. From here, we’re going to New Zealand which is an event everybody absolutely loves and I’m hoping I can put one over on my team-mate Chris [Atkinson] on that event.”
PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Seri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said:
“We are elated with this victory. Two victories in three rounds of the APRC certainly proves the competitiveness of the Satria Neo S2000. We’ve endured our fair share of misfortunes and mechanical issues but the car has nevertheless proven time and time again that it is able to take on the more powerful turbocharged cars and more importantly win rallies.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“This is a great result for the team. It means we’re leading the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships which is fantastic news. It’s fair to say we were ready for a shot in the arm like this one. The cars ran really well and the Satria has, once again, shown the pace it can run at. This wasn’t an easy rally for the team, Chris had been here before, but some time ago, but Alister hadn’t seen these roads before and they were pretty tricky, with plenty of places to catch the guys out. Both Chris and Alister have done a great job for the team and that’s reflected in the way we lead the championships. Taking first and third from two of the first three rounds is a very solid start to the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship – and it's nice to be leading three FIA championships!”
Event data:
Round: 3/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Noumea, New Caledonia
Stages: 19
Liaison distance: 387.41km
Competitive distance: 223.73km
Total distance: 611.14km
Conditions: 20 degrees, dry
Day one leader: Chris Atkinson PROTON
Winner: Chris Atkinson PROTON
The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)
Barum Czech Rally Zlin review
August 28, 2011
In front of a 300,000-strong crowd, PROTON Motorsports demonstrated the pace and ability of the Satria Neo S2000 by scoring both drivers’ and manufacturers’ Intercontinental Rally Challenge points on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin, which finished this afternoon.
PROTON is contesting this year’s IRC alongside its hugely successful FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship programme, where the Satria Neo S2000 has won three of the four rounds so far this year.
The competition on this weekend’s seventh IRC round of the season was tougher than at any time this year, with 29 of the world’s fastest Super 2000 cars making the start of this exceptionally popular rally. Based in Zlin, the rally is known for attracting big crowds, but with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees for much of the event, the attendance hit a record-breaking 300,000 on the asphalt roads in the south-east of the Czech Republic.
And PROTON Motorsport drivers, double Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson and two-time FIA European Rally Champion Giandomenico Basso, were right in the thick of the action. Unfortunately for Basso, a puncture ruined the Italian driver’s hopes of taking points from the event, but Andersson (Sweden) was on exceptional form throughout to score in the sunshine.
On what is recognised as one of the most difficult asphalt rallies in the world, with it’s bumpy nature and ever-changing grip levels as the roads dive in and out of the trees, both Andersson and Basso gave a solid and speedy account of themselves. And both were delighted with the pace of the on-going development of the Satria Neo S2000.
Conditions weren’t quite as difficult as they have been in previous years, but heavy overnight rain on Saturday meant the shaded areas of Sunday morning’s stages needed to be treated with extreme caution.
Andersson ended the event in ninth place, less than 20 seconds behind local hero and former Ford World Rally Championship driver Roman Kresta, while Basso climbed to 13th having slipped to 18th after his puncture.
Buoyed by its burgeoning IRC pace, the PROTON Motorsports team now heads through Slovakia and into Hungary for the next round of the series, the Canon Mecsek Rally (September 9-11).
Quotes:
P-G Andersson said:
“I had a good feeling the whole weekend and really enjoyed this rally. I liked the stages and we’ve also improved the car in the engine and the chassis. It’s getting better. We had a little spin just before service today and broke the propshaft, but the team changed that and it didn’t cost too much time – it was close to the end of the stage. I’m looking forward to the next event in Hungary now. I have done quite a lot of driving on asphalt and I’m enjoying it – I feel that I know the car now and I can take it to the limit more and more. It’s good.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“I'm happy. This is a very hard race, but I'm happy. We made improvements to the car and, for us, it was important to arrive at the finish with a good result for the team, which we've achieved. We'll see for the next race in Hungary, when I hope to do another good race, maximum attack. The car has improved again, but this race is very hard for any car. We showed the reliability and that was good to show. We had a little problem today but it was just a little problem. The car was good."
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“We’re very pleased with the way the weekend has gone. Okay, there have been a few punctures and the cars have been off the road a couple of times, but at the end of the event we have shown a significant step forwards in the development of the PROTON. From where we were 12 months ago, we have halved the gap to the cars at the front of the field and that represents real progress. I’m pleased with both of the drivers, but I think given that P-G has never been to this event before, to come here and set the times he’s done, shows what we’re capable of. We’re under no illusion here, we know we have more work to do with the car, but we’re absolutely on the right track and we know the areas of the car where we’re going to focus our attention.”
Event data
Round: 7/11, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Zlin, Czech Republic
Stages: 15
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 371.25km
Competitive distance: 248.48km
Total distance: 619.73km
Conditions: 26 degrees, sunny
Day one leader: Jan Kopecky (CZ)
Winner: Jan Kopecky (CZ)
Geko Ypres Rally preview
June 18, 2011
The worldwide nature of PROTON Motosports’ 2011 rally programme is demonstrated in the next nine days as the Malaysian manufacturer competes on either side of the globe in two of the most competitive rally championships in the world.
Just days after completing the second round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, the Rallye De Nouvelle Caledonie (New Caledonia), the PROTON team heads north of the equator for the Geko Ypres Rally, round five of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
P-G Andersson (Sweden) and Giandomenico Basso (Italy) will be reunited with their Satria Neo S2000s for the all-asphalt Belgian classic. Two-time European Rally Champion, Basso is a former winner of the Geko Ypres Rally; Andersson will rely heavily on his team-mate’s knowledge as the double Junior World Rally Champion has never competed on the rally previously.
The Geko Ypres Rally is based around the town of Ypres in north-west Belgium. And, next week, that town is taken over by hundreds of thousands of rally fans from across the continent. The event is a true classic and an enormous challenge. Unlike any other asphalt rounds in the championship, the smooth Belgian roads slice their way through the farmland with only square corner after square corner likely to slow the speeding Satrias.
In a hectic, 30-hour schedule, Basso and Andersson will tackle a 649-kilometre route, including 18 stages that comprise 287 competitive kilometres. What makes this event even tougher is the notoriously fickle weather and the fact that five of the stages will be run in fading light or complete darkness.
When the PROTONs arrive at the Grote Markt in the centre of Ypres at the end of Saturday, they will have completed one of rallying’s toughest tests.
And don’t forget, just six days earlier, Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae will have done the same thing on the earth’s other side.
Quotes:
P-G Andersson said:
“I have never done this rally before, but I have seen the stages and the number of people out there spectating is just incredible. I think we’re in for a rally with a lot of atmosphere! Unfortunately, I think it can be quite tough for drivers to go there without so much experience and try to win the rally; some of the roads are quite specialised. We showed last time in Ukraine that the team is making good progress with the car, the car is definitely getting quicker, and I’m sure we will continue to do the same in Belgium.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“I’m looking forward to this event, I have won here before and it’s always a big challenge with a lot of really fast local drivers. The last rally we did [the PRIME Yalta Rally] with the car showed that we have made progress with the Satria. This is the good thing, the car is better and better, we are really improving. I want to come out and be fast in Ypres.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“Ypres is one of the biggest rallies in Europe and you always get a great welcome when you get over there. As a team, we’re looking to deliver on the promise we showed in Yalta; analysing the times, you can see that we’re right on the cusp with the car. We believe we have the right package to deliver a result in Ypres, we’ve certainly got the most talented drivers in P-G and Giandomenico. P-G’s right when he says it will be tough to go to that event for the first time, but he’s going to be able to get some good advice from Giandomenico, who has won in the past. But, before that next IRC round, we’re competing in New Caledonia in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship this weekend. Obviously, we’re eager to see what the boys can do on that event. It would be nice to go to Belgium on the back of a second APRC win of the year.”
Event data
Round: 5/12, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Ypres, Belgium
Stages: 18
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 361.98km
Competitive distance: 287.89km
Total distance: 649.87km
Pre-event press conference: Media Centre, Novotel (Friday June 24, 1430)
Post-event press conference: Media Centre, Novotel (Saturday June 25, 2330)
Time difference: Belgium is GMT+2hrs
Event timetable
Friday June 24
SS1 Dikkebus-Westouter 1 (14.30km) 1649
SS2 Mesen-Sauvegarde 1 (14.75km) 1744
SS3 Langemark 1 (18.84km) 1823
Service Ypres 1929
SS4 Dikkebus-Westouter 2 (14.30km) 2018
SS5 Mesen-Sauvegarde 2 (14.75km) 2113
SS6 Langemark 2 (18.84km) 2152
Service Ypres 2228
Saturday June 25
SS7 Proven-Vieteren 1 (14.76km) 1118
SS8 Watou 1 (12.33km) 1140
SS9 Heuvelland 1 (24.74km) 1216
Service Ypres 1300
SS10 Hollebeke 1 (28.82km) 1403
SS11 Lille-Eurometropole (8.47km 1506
SS12 Show Wasquehai (1.88km) 1538
SS13 Kemmelberg 1 (10.23km) 1641
Service Ypres 1709
SS14 Proven-Vieteren 2 (14.76km) 1827
SS15 Watou 2 (12.33km) 1849
SS16 Heuvelland 2 (24.74km) 1925
Service Ypres 2009
SS17 Hollebeke 2 (28.82km) 2112
SS18 Kemmelberg 2 (10.23) 2156
Finish Ypres 2238
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie preview
June 10, 2011
PROTON Motorsports drivers Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae start next week’s Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie with their sights set on a second victory from three Asia-Pacific Rally Championship rounds in the Satria Neo S2000.
PROTON is looking for a repeat of the Malaysian Rally win in New Caledonia
The third round of the APRC starts from the capital of New Caledonian, Noumea on Friday (June 17) afternoon. Scotsman McRae spearheads PROTON’s challenge, arriving on the south-west Pacific island second in the title race, with Atkinson (Australia) two places behind him.
PROTON dominated the opening APRC round of the series, at home in Malaysia, and looked like repeating that performance on the second event in Queensland, Australia, before dropping back from the front of the field. PROTON’s Satria Neo S2000 does, however, remain the class of this year’s APRC field with more fastest times than any other manufacturer.
The fast and flowing stages on next week’s rally will suit the PROTON’s ever-improving power and driveability, empowering McRae and Atkinson to carry the fight to their rivals on what has to be one of the most picturesque rallies in the world.
Sitting 750 miles east of Australia and 900 miles north-west of New Zealand, the action takes place on the Grande Terre, the largest island in the archipelago. The mountainous nature of this 6,300-square metre island mean rain is always a possibility. While the event takes place in the southern hemisphere’s winter, temperatures are still expected around 20 degrees.
The stages offer a stunning mix of inland roads through the forests and rich vegetation and the coastline roads, where one mistake could provide man and machine with a closer-than-expected glimpse of the South Pacific.
McRae and Atkinson will test their PROTONs in New Caledonia on Tuesday, when they will focus on finding the perfect set-up for the 19-stage event.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“We’ve led the first two – and won the first round – of the championship, so we know we’ve got the pace to be at the front of the field. I was really impressed with what the team had done with the car, just between Malaysia and Queensland, the engine was great, but then we had a few issues. The team have worked really hard to get those things sorted and you could see from the pace on the last intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) round how close the car is to the other factory S2000s; we’re very close with this car now. I’ve done the rally in New Caledonia once before and I remember fast and narrow roads which will suit our car. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car and showing what PROTON can do again.”
Alister McRae said:
“There’s always something really interesting about going to a new place and a new rally and that’s the case for me in New Caledonia. I’ve heard plenty about it, but I’m really looking forward to seeing the roads. I’ve heard it’s a mixture of Queensland and New Zealand, which should be good for us and the PROTON: both of those events suit the Super 2000 car. I’ve watched some in-car from previous years and it looks as though the surface is quite clay-like, which will get very slippery if it gets wet. We’re looking for a good result from this event; we’re looking for a win. The [Asia-Pacific Rally] Championship is still wide open and we really want a result to put the disappointment of Queensland behind us – and to get us to the top of the table. I think everybody can see the potential of the Satria Neo S2000 now, the pace is very impressive – and we’re out to demonstrate that pace in a new part of the world next week.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“We know we’ve got the speed to win this rally. We have addressed the issues we had in Australia and we’re happy, very happy with the way the car’s running ahead of New Caledonia. The team has competed on this event before and we have a very good idea of where we’re going with the car set-up. We’re quietly confident of a good result – a repeat of the first and third we took in Malaysia would be nice.”
Event data:
Round: 3/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Noumea, New Caledonia
Stages: 19
Liaison distance: 387.41km
Competitive distance: 223.73km
Total distance: 611.14km
Shakedown: Noumea (Friday June 17, 0730-1030)
Pre-event press conference: Ramada Hotel, Noumea (Friday June 17, 1030)
Post-event press conference: Finish podium, Noumea (Sunday June 19, 1600)
Time difference: Malaysia is GMT+11hrs
Event timetable:
Friday June 17
SS1 Nouville 1 (2.67km) 1223
SS2 Plaine 1 (3.78km) 1236
SS3 Nouville 2 (2.67km) 1514
SS4 Plaine 2 (3.78km) 1527
Saturday June 18
SS5 Calmines Mkm 1 (24.10km) 0743
SS6 Champs de Bataille Almameto 1 (10.35km) 0836
SS7 Penamax Pierre Clavel 1 (8.55km) 0909
Service – Prony 0929
SS8 Calmines Mkm 2 (24.10km) 1052
SS9 Champs de Bataille Almameto 2 (10.35km) 1145
SS10 Penamax Pierre Clavel 2 (8.55km) 1218
Service – Prony 1238
SS11 Calmines Mkm 3 (24.10km) 1401
SS12 Champs de Bataille Almameto 3 (10.35km) 1454
SS13 Penamax Pierre Clavel 3 (8.55km) 1527
Service – Prony 1547
Sunday June 19
SS14 Tabou Pierre Clavel 1 (8.57km) 0748
SS15 Touongo Almameto 1 (10.33km) 0811
SS16 Pirogues Mkm 1 (14.26km) 0844
Service – Prony 0942
SS17 Touongo Almameto 2 (10.33km) 1047
SS18 Pirogues Mkm 2 (14.26km) 1120
SS19 Plaine 3 (3.78km) 1343
Finish – Anse Kuendu 1358
The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Malaysian Rally (April 1-3)
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)
PRIME Yalta Rally review
June 5, 2011
PROTON Motorsports emerged from the PRIME Yalta Rally with Ukrainian sporting heroes Oleksandr Saliuk Sr and Evgen Chervonenko on the podium in the latest round of the Ukrainian National Rally Championship, which finished yesterday.
Saliuk Sr was a hugely popular and successful addition to the PROTON team
Saliuk and Chervonenko had won the USSR Rally Championship title together 20 years earlier and, when Saliuk’s son broke his arm and was unable to take the start, Oleksandr wasted no time in asking his former co-driver to join him in a third factory PROTON Satria Neo S2000. This resurgence of one of the most fondly remember rallying partnerships caught the imagination of a nation and brought close to 250,000 fans to the Crimean coastline to cheer them on.
Saliuk didn’t put a wheel out of place as he raced through the sun-drenched and hugely entertaining Ai-Petri Mountain stages. Such was his performance, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych visited the PROTON Motorsports service area to meet representatives from the Malaysian manufacturer and members of the team. Yanukovych spent half an hour with the team, talking through various aspects of the sport and the rally.
The other two factory Satria Neo S2000s were driven by PROTON’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge regulars, P-G Andersson (Sweden) and Giandomenico Basso (Italy). Both had enjoyed a fruitful three-day test prior to the start of this fourth IRC round of the season – and the results of that test were clear to see. Both cars were running inside the top 10, with Basso up to fifth, and posting competitive times.
Unfortunately a puncture cost Andersson time on the fourth stage, with a similar issue hampering Basso one stage later, following a power steering problem. With those problem solved, the cars were soon back up to speed. Unfortunately, both cars hit engine trouble and retired on Friday.
While the IRC result might not have been the one the team had started the event aiming for, the PRIME Yalta Rally was an undoubted commercial success for the PROTON team. Beyond the sporting side of the event, the Malaysian manufacturer arrived on the shores of the Black Sea chasing recognition from the local fans. And PROTON Motorsports certainly did that. The Satria Neo S2000s were scarcely off the television screens or out of the sports sections of the newspapers. A further nod to the relationship developed between PROTON and the Ukraine came from the merchandise sales being completely unable to keep up with demand.
By Saturday afternoon, the yellow shirts of PROTON appeared to line this section of the Crimean coastline.
Quotes:
Oleksandr Saliuk Sr said:
“I have really enjoyed competing on this rally and working in the car with Evgen again. The car was very enjoyable to drive and it was great to see so many people out watching the rally at the side of the road – and to see so many people visiting our country and having such a good time. The atmosphere around the rally was really enjoyable and to come away with third place in our national championship was very satisfying.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“This was a very difficult rally. All the time it was bumpy, bumpy and slippery. Some of the roads were going in and out of the forests and when we were under the trees, we didn’t know what was the grip going to be like: sometimes it would be okay, sometimes, there would be no grip at all. It was really hard to read the road. I would say this was quite an extreme asphalt rally, a real challenge. I was happy with where we were running: fifth place was nice and, at that point, we weren’t having any problems. In the third and fourth stages, the car felt very good, we could go quicker, everything was working. All the work the team had done on the car, you could feel it in those stages, but then we lost the power steering in the fifth stage, then got the puncture. It was not so nice, we could have made the good result here. But I am happy for the way the car was feeling before the trouble, the team is in the right way for the next event.”
P-G Andersson said:
“The handling and suspension of the car is so much better, we are definitely getting somewhere with the car. It’s always tough to retire from a rally, but we felt good at the start of this one. Like I thought, the stages were quite similar to what I had experienced in Bulgaria last year, with lots of mixed levels of grip. It wasn’t an easy rally at all. There were earth banks at the side of the road and, after it had rained a lot during the night, you could find some sections of mud where the rain had run out of the bank – these were really slippery. It was a tough rally, but there were lots of people out watching and plenty of them wearing the yellow of PROTON which was nice to see. We focus our attentions on Ypres next.”
Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood (Head of PROTON Motorsports) said:
“We came here with the single objective of establishing the PROTON branding which was previously unheard of in the Ukraine. PROTON put up such a strong challenge against the more established European brands that we were pleasantly surprised to find every Ukrainian rally fan talking about the brand. There was further evidence of this in the enormous attention we received at the service park where almost all of our PROTON Motorsports merchandise and team t-shirts were snapped up by our new-found fans! Overall, the team had put up such an incredible performance with [Giandomenico] Basso running as high as fifth overall before mechanical problems put a serious dent on our aspirations. On the back of these unfortunate circumstances, we achieved our objectives of creating a very high awareness for PROTON and making it a desirable brand in the Ukraine.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“Firstly, I have to say what a huge honour it was to receive the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in our service area during this event. He was a knowledgeable, interested and very welcome guest.
“This was a rally of highs and lows for us. Obviously, it was great to get Oleksandr and Evgen through and to see them finishing third in the Ukrainian Championship round. It was incredible to have these two legends of rallying in this part of the world in a PROTON for what has been the biggest rally their country has staged. Not only did they acquit themselves extremely well, but they also fired the imagination of the national media. I’ve never seen such complete coverage of a rally from both broadcast and print media. We have been made extremely welcome by the people of Ukraine and we’ve enjoyed the event. Obviously, we didn’t come away with the result we were hoping for from P-G [Andersson] and Giandomenico [Basso], but the silver lining here is the times both cars set. Clearly we’re getting there and we are very close to the competition now. Giandomenico was running fifth and might have had a look at fourth had we avoided the issues which stopped him. We’ve got some tweaks to make for the asphalt, so we’ll be back stronger and faster for Ypres.”
Event data
Round: 4/12, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Yalta, Ukraine
Stages: 14
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 459.74km
Competitive distance: 261.87km
Total distance: 721.61km
Conditions: 24 degrees and sunny (rain overnight)
Winner: Juho Hanninen
PRIME Yalta Rally preview
30 May 2011
PROTON Motorsports will arrive at the start of this week’s PRIME Yalta Rally on the back of a positive three-day test in Ukraine.
For the first time this season, the Malaysian firm will run three Satria Neo S2000s, with local hero Oleksandr Saliuk Sr joining regular Intercontinental Rally Challenge crews P-G Andersson and Giandomenico Basso for the Ukraine’s biggest moment in rally history.
The beautiful town of Yalta will host the event, but the mainstay of the action will take crews inland from the Black Sea coastline and into some of the Crimea region’s most dramatic scenery on the roads are the Ai-Petri Mountain.
This is the first time the PRIME Yalta Rally has formed part of the IRC and the nation has got behind the event, with the event organisers are expecting huge numbers of spectators to turn out to watch the fastest Super 2000 cars competing in their backyard.
All three drivers tested the Satria Neo S2000 on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (today) in preparation for what’s going to be one of the most testing rounds of this year’s IRC. The unyielding mountain roads allied to the often changeable weather will make for one of the most fascinating rounds of the series to date. The action gets underway on Thursday (June 2) with two stages, before two long days of sport on Friday and Saturday.
The PROTON crews focused on getting their cars set-up for the event ahead, while also testing the latest developments made to the Satria Neo S2000, which includes further improved suspension and engine settings.
Driving a factory car at IRC level for the first time, Saliuk Sr will have plenty of experience to draw on within the team: Andersson has two Junior World Rally Championship titles to his name and Basso is a two-time European Rally Champion and the man who won the inaugural IRC crown in 2006.
Quotes:
P-G Andersson said:
“I am very encouraged by the way the car has been feeling in the test. The handling of the car feels better again since Canaries and the engine is also improved. I can’t say where we might finish the event, but I am pretty sure we will be closer than we have ever been to the other competitors. About the rally, well, I don’t know too much. I think it’s going to be a similar sort of event, similar sort of stages to the ones I drove on the Bulgaria Rally last year. I think it can be quite bumpy in some sections, with the grip level changing a lot. The other thing which seems to be changing quite a lot is the weather – and when it rains I think the roads are going to be quite slippery.”
Giandomenico Basso said:
“It’s good to be back in the car again after quite a long time away. The car feels nice and having a test in the place where we are going to be competing has helped me again. The team is good to work with and we have made a good set-up for the event. I don’t know too much about what to expect from this rally, it’s new for us all – but it’s nice to go somewhere new and to try a new challenge.”
Oleksandr Saliuk Sr said:
“It means a great deal to me and to my co-driver and I to compete together 20 years after we won the title in the USSR. This is a very important rally in the Ukraine and one which will attract the IRC’s fastest drivers to our beautiful part of the world. I am very excited about competing with these drivers and teams in front of the home crowd.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“We had a very good test for the event, everything went really well with all of the drivers feeling comfortable in the car and getting plenty of kilometres in. There’s a real sense of anticipation ahead of this event, it’s something new, nobody really knows what’s coming - and it's a great place to go rallying; the atmosphere is fantastic, the organsation has been tremendous and everything is working very well. From what we’ve heard, the roads are quite similar to Corsica in places, with varying levels of grip. There’s another strong entry for this latest IRC round, which means the competition is going to be pretty fierce, but, with more time in the car and the further improvements we’ve made to the Satria since the boys were in it last time in the Canaries, we’re feeling confident of a strong performance.”
Event data
Round: 4/12, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Yalta, Ukraine
Stages: 14
Surface: asphalt
Liaison distance: 459.74km
Competitive distance: 261.87km
Total distance: 721.61km
Pre-event press conference: Media Centre, Yalta (Thursday June 2, 1500)
Post-event press conference: Media Centre, Yalta (Saturday June 4, 1800)
Time difference: Ukraine is GMT+2hrs
Event timetable
Thursday June 2
SS1 Yalta (2.12km) 1314
SS2 Livadija (5.49km) 1347
Service Yalta 1412
Friday June 3
SS3 Ai-Petri 1 (17.26km) 0844
SS4 Plato 1 (22.55km) 0912
SS5 Orlinoje 1 (22.55km) 1055
Service Yalta 1150
SS6 Ai-Petri 2 (17.26km) 1303
SS7 Plato 2 (22.55km) 1331
SS8 Orlinoje 2 (22.55km) 1541
Service Yalta 1609
Saturday June 4
SS9 Opolznevoje 1 (18.95km) 0807
SS10 Sokolinoje 1 (22.35km) 0945
SS11 Uchan-Su 1 (17.07km) 1013
Service Yalta 1049
SS12 Opolznevoje 2 (18.95km) 1225
SS13 Sokolinoje 2 (22.35km) 1403
SS14 Uchan-Su 2 (17.07km) 1431
Service Yalta 1507
Finish Yalta 1522
PROTON helps make history on the Yalta Rally
25 May 2011
One of the Ukraine’s most famous rallying partnerships will be reunited on next week’s Prime Yalta Rally when Alexander Saliuk Sr and Evgen Chervonenko get back into a rally car for the biggest moment in their nation’s rallying history.
And they’ll be doing it in a PROTON Satria Neo S2000, as team-mates to two of the sport’s biggest stars, P-G Andersson (Sweden) and Giandomenico Basso (Italy).
Saliuk Sr and Chervonenko won the USSR Rally Championship 20 years ago and were recognised as being among the region’s fastest drivers in their era. Since that historic rally title, the pair have stopped competing regularly; Saliuk’s son Alexander Saliuk Jr is rising through the ranks and his father has stepped aside to focus on his son’s development as a driver. Saliuk Jr cannot compete on next week’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge round after he suffered a broken arm.
Chervonenko has been a driving force behind the Prime Yalta Rally’s recognition by Eurosport Events, the firm which runs the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. And next week, Chervonenko will co-drive in a factory car on the legend he helped create.
Speaking at a specially convened press conference in Yalta earlier this week, Saliuk Sr said: “The original plan was for my son to drive the PROTON, but since his injury I have stepped in to take his place behind the wheel. It means a great deal to me and to Evgen to compete together 20 years after we won the title in the USSR. This is a very important rally in the Ukraine and one which will attract the IRC’s fastest drivers to our beautiful part of the world. Evgen and I are very excited about competing with these drivers and teams in front of the home crowd.”
The Prime Yalta Rally runs on the asphalt roads in the foothills of the Ai-Petri Mountain, inland from the beautiful Crimean peninsula. The event begins with an opening ceremony at Yalta’s waterfront on Thursday June 2. The rally, round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, gets underway with six stages the next day, before finishing after a further six stages on Saturday June 4.
PROTON Motorsports will be running three factory-specification Satria Neo S2000s for Andersson, Basso and Saliuk Sr.
International Rally of Queensland review
May 15, 2011
For the second year running, the PROTON Motorsports team set the pace at the International Rally of Queensland – but an electrical issue ruled the team out of a one-two finish which looked perfectly possible early in the rally. Scotsman Alister McRae slipped back from the lead today (Sunday) and finished the Sunshine Coast event in fourth place.
Both McRae and his team-mate Chris Atkinson had been full of praise for the improvements made to the PROTON Satria Neo S2000, and both drivers enjoyed a trouble-free test for this second round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. After the first two spectator stages on Friday night, the team’s hopes of going one better than the APRC opener, last month’s Malaysian Rally – where they finished first and third, were on course as Atkinson led from McRae.
Courtesy of his Malaysian Rally win, Atkinson led the APRC coming into his home event, and the local superstar continued his domination from the front of the field on the first stage on Saturday. Not far after the start of SS4, however, the leading PROTON suffered an alternator problem and stopped.
Running close to Atkinson when he suffered the electrical issue, McRae took on the PROTON charge with an inspired run through Saturday to lead the rally going into the second and final day.
Unfortunately for McRae, his hopes of repeating his – and PROTON’s – win on the final round of last year’s APRC were dashed when his car suffered an alternator problem. McRae ended the event in fourth place, claiming points not only for his overall placing, but also for leading at the end of day one.
PROTON Motorsports will return its focus to the Intercontinental Rally Challenge next, where P-G Andersson and Giandomenico Basso will drive the factory Satria Neo S2000s on the Prime Yalta Rally (June 2-4).
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“We’re all disappointed with what happened in Queensland. We showed such tremendous pace early on, but it wasn’t to be. This can be a tough sport sometimes. The positives from here are the way the cars were running: we were one-two without too much trouble. Just looking at the times we were doing in the superspecials compared with last year, we’ve pulled five seconds out of some of the guys, in just a couple of kilometres. That’s a real step for PROTON. The suspension and engine are really coming together, which makes it all the more frustrating that we couldn’t make this one stick. Obviously, it’s a tough one for me, this being my home event. We had some good support out there on the stages. This was a big rally for me and the team. It’s just a shame we couldn’t put it together to back up the win in Malaysia.”
Alister McRae said:
“At the end of the opening day, things were looking good for Bill [Hayes, co-drive] and I. We’d had an electrical issue of our own on the opening day, which had cost us 50 seconds, but we’d battled back and we were leading. I was happy with that. We hadn’t had to risk everything to get the time back, so I was pretty confident for the next day. It felt like we could control the event and be in a good position to take the win. When we had the alternator problem on the next day, fourth was the result. Championship-wise, the results haven’t shaken out too badly for us, so we’re still in the fight for this year’s title – and, again, the car is showing real potential. We had the speed to win this rally, but it just got away from us.”
Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood
(Head of PROTON Motorsports) said:
“This was a hard-fought rally. While we were hoping for a better result, fourth place amid an unfortunate last day will, nevertheless, go a long way to extending our position in the manufacturers’ championship. Alister [McRae] did an exceptional job in not dropping more time while nursing the car home. He takes first-placed points from day one and a fourth overall today – and we also saw a class win for Gunaseelan Rajoo (MYS) in his PROTON.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“The alternators on both cars were overcharging and causing an electrical issue in the cars. We homologated new parts to cure this problem, but obviously we’re going to go back to the UK to find a solution. I can’t tell you how much frustration there is in the team. Like the boys have said, this one was there for the taking. Neither of them was being silly or pushing too hard and we were taking time out of the rest of the drivers in the rally. The engine modifications have worked well here, there’s plenty of torque and power lower down in the rev range; watching the cars coming out of hairpins, it just pulls and pulls. We had absolutely no problems in testing or in any of the pre-event work we did, but it seems when we put the numbers on the doors, there’s something to deal with. Looking at the times we were setting this weekend, compared with those stages 12 months ago, the progression we have made with the car is terrific. We’ll be working on the other issues immediately.”
Event data
Round: 2/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Caloundra, Sunshine Coast
Stages: 19
Surface: gravel
Liaison distance: 515.93km
Competitive distance: 230.79km
Total distance: 733.65km
Conditions: 23 degrees and sunny
Day one leader: Alister McRae
Winner: Mark Higgins (GB)
Malaysian Rally 2011 review
Proton takes dominant win at home
April 3, 2011
PROTON Motorsport celebrated one of its greatest rally success ever this weekend as the Malaysian manufacturer dominated its home round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, with Chris Atkinson winning the Malaysian Rally.
Based in Johor Bahru, the Malaysian fans were treated to a stunning display of power and control from Atkinson and his team-mate Alister McRae as the pair powered their PROTON Satria Neo S2000s ahead of everybody else on what is regarded as one of the toughest rallies in the world.
As usual, the heat played its part on this event, with the in-car temperatures rocketing. Fortunately, Atkinson and McRae were more than ready for their personal battle with the elements – and the PROTON was equally up for the enduring challenge posed by the twisty and technical stages.
Atkinson made a blistering start to the event. Content to play second fiddle on the spectator-pleasing dash around the Angsana suuperspecial, as soon as the event hit the real roads of the Kota Tinggi forest complex the Australian was in his element.
Fastest on the first gravel stage, the PROTONs were demonstrating commanding early pace by posting the first and second quickest time; Atkinson’s team-mate McRae being the only driver able to get close to the Queenslander’s scratch time.
The next stage meant another fastest time for Atkinson, his lead now more than half a minute at the front of the field. Unfortunately, SS3 proved more of a challenge for McRae and his co-driver Bill Hayes. The front of their Satria Neo S2000 became blocked by long grass, restricting the air-flow into the engine. Starved of cool air going through the radiator, the engine began to overheat, limiting the power available to the Scot.
McRae remained in touch throughout day one and moved back onto a provisional podium position on the sixth test.
Atkinson’s searing pace through Saturday was matched only by the temperature outside the Satria. Despite the heat and humidity – which led to in-car temperatures running in excess of 60 degrees – the PROTONs didn’t miss a beat. The leader won five of the six gravel stages on Saturday to dominate proceedings and build a lead of close to two minutes. With McRae’s Satria Neo S2000 just two places further back in third, the local fans were loud and proud of the Malaysian machinery which was dominating the front of their most important rally of the year.
After their thrilling and dominating drives through Saturday, Atkinson and McRae set about protecting their podium places on Sunday. The heroic pace and performance of day one, gave way to consistency and durability on day two. Atkinson suffered a right-rear puncture on the opening test, which cost him half a minute, but that was the only issue on day two. The PROTONs ran faultlessly to allow the Australian and the Scotsman to end the event in first and third places.
This was what the thousands of Malaysian motorsport fans had turned out to see: their car winning their rally. Two Satrias on the podium made for a sweet weekend.
PROTON won the final round of last year’s Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and maintained that domination into 2011, with a hugely impressive display in Johor Bahru this weekend.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“This result has been coming for a while. Last year, we saw just how quick the car was in the APRC and now we’ve delivered the score which everybody in PROTON deserves. It was a shame Alister had his trouble on the first day, it would have been a great battle with him. In the end, we had to drive sensibly. We’d got a good lead from the first day and we could only lose it today [Sunday]. We weren’t willing to risk anything, so we just settled down and counted the stages off, especially after we dropped some time with a puncture on the first stage this morning. As a driver, you always want to be on the limit and racing, but this was a result for PROTON and the people of Malaysia. They have made us so welcome over the past week, to be able to take two places on the podium is a fantastic result for Chris [Mellors], the MEM team and all of PROTON. It’s the best possible way to start the season. As soon as we got into the car to drive it with the new suspension and engine, we knew it was going to be special. It was. Very special.”
Alister McRae said:
“This was a great result for the team, but it was obviously a little bit disappointing that I had the overheating problem yesterday. We were running pretty high up on the road and we got some grass caught in the radiator. When we saw the temperature going up, we slowed down until the temperature came down a little bit, then we would go again. The car has taken a really good step forward and there is more speed to come, but the engine and suspension already felt great on this rally. There’s no doubt this event was the toughest for the Super 2000 car. The tight corners don’t suit S2000 cars as much as the others, so to take a win here is fantastic. The next rallies will suit us much more, which makes the future very exciting for this car and this team. Obviously, a one-two was the dream, but first and third is a great result and a massive achievement for PROTON.”
Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir (PROTON Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director) said:
“In a rally that was incredibly difficult, celebrating a victory and having two cars on the podium is absolutely rewarding for PROTON and the entire team, as much as it is a big boost to the brand and consumer appeal in our products. The results are also testament to all the testing, development, hard work and heart that have gone into building the PROTON Satria Neo S2000’s competitiveness. The Satria Neo S2000’s pace and performance in Malaysia forms a strong foundation for further development in preparation for the next round of the APRC which moves to Australia next month and five further very competitive rounds in 2011.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“When we saw the look on the drivers’ faces after the first test of the car this year, we knew this was possible. The team has worked so hard through the winter to make this happen. Both Chris [Atkinson] and Alister [McRae] have driven fantastically for this result. The PROTON Motorsports team has really pulled together for this result. The cars have been fantastic throughout the weekend. Obviously, with the guys taking a good lead over their nearest rivals into the second day, we talked about our approach, which was about delivering on the promise we’d shown yesterday. And we certainly did that on the rally which means the most to us all. And the good thing is that there is more to come from the car. We now look forward to the next Intercontinental Rally Challenge round [Rally Islas Canarias El Corte Ingles] next month. But, for now, two Malaysian rally cars on the podium of Malaysia’s biggest rally of the season is the perfect result. ”
Event data:
Round: 1/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Kota Tinggi, Johor Bahru
Stages: 15
Liaison distance: 353.31km
Competitive distance: 233.76km
Total distance: 587.07km
Conditions: 40 degrees, dry
Day one leader: Chris Atkinson PROTON
Winner: Chris Atkinson PROTON
Next event:
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Run on Australia’s Sunshine Coast, this event is one of the youngest, but most popular rounds of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. This will be the International Rally of Queensland’s third season in the APRC, but the gravel roads around Imbil are among the most entertaining of the year. The Friday night superspecial stage which thrilled the local fans last year, will be repeated on Saturday night this time around, ensuring there’s even more action for the Queenslanders to enjoy. The biggest cheer, of course, would be for a local win for Queesnland’s most famous rallying export: Chris Atkinson.
The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship:
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)
Malaysian Rally preview - March 31, 2011
PROTON Motorsports returns to the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) on this week’s Malaysian Rally. And the Malaysian manufacturer is more determined than ever to deliver in front of its home fans.
After concluding last year’s APRC with a series win in China, the PROTON team has worked solidly through the winter on the Satria Neo S2000. And, when they drove the new car for the first time, PROTON’s Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson were delighted. Both of them know they’ve got the ideal car for this year’s championship and now they want to make the most of it.
The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship is one of the world’s toughest, which is why it’s sanctioned by the governing body of world motorsport; if you want an FIA title and the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with the winner of the FIA World Rally and Formula 1 World Championship at the awards ceremony in Monaco, you’ve got earn it. And earning it for PROTON, McRae and Atkinson starts right here in Johor Bahru, Malaysia this week.
The Malaysian Rally gets under way with a ceremonial start on Friday afternoon. The crews will play themselves in with a crowd-pleasing superspecial stage around the rally’s base at the Angsana Complex – the first of its kind on this event. But, for the weekend, the rallying gets hotter and much, much tougher.
The forests and plantation roads of the Kota Tinggi region, north-east of Johor Bahru, will host the fastest cars and drivers in the Asia-Pacific region on what will be a typically gruelling Malaysian Rally. The gravel tests are some of the most twisty and technical on the calendar; the cars will rarely be in the top half of the gearbox as they wind their way through this beautiful countryside. Physically, there is no bigger challenge than this. Allied to rocketing temperatures, the high level of humidity and lack of hair flowing into the cars will have a major effect on the crews. Dehydration and exhaustion regularly take their toll on drivers and co-drivers in Malaysia. The PROTON crews have pushed themselves to the limit in their preparation for this event – and the team have done the same with the car.
The Satria Neo S2000 is running with a revised suspension set-up, using Reiger Racing Suspension for the first time – and different characteristics in the engine. The two-litre motor produces more than 300 horsepower and offers consistent torque throughout the rev range.
Running in a tropical climate, there remains the threat of rain in the region and, when it comes, it can change the nature of the event in an instant. When wet, grip levels on the roads are slashed, forcing the drivers to rely on their talent and the car’s ability to find traction to get them to the end of the stage. And there are no drivers in this year’s Asia-Pacific Rally Championship as qualified to deal with the tricky conditions as McRae and Atkinson; between them, they have years of experience of rallying at the highest level. And, pre-season testing has shown, they’re as fast as ever. And more than ready to deliver on PROTON’s biggest rally outing of the year.
Quotes:
Chris Atkinson said:
“The car felt absolutely fantastic in the test. The change of suspension and alterations to the engine have really honed the whole package. The new Reiger suspension immediately gives you great confidence in placing the car on the road, we’re getting better traction and the improved damping is lessening the impact strain on the other areas of the car. When you have more confidence in the car you’re able to relax more driving it, everything flows much better and feels more natural. That’s where we’re at with the PROTON. You really need that kind of feeling on an event like the Malaysian Rally as well. This is such a tough physical challenge that you need everything to be working to get the best out of yourself. We’ve trained really hard for the event and during the rally the major thing is to stay hydrated and keep the core body temperature down. We’ll drink plenty of water and rehydration fluids to help us maintain concentration and avoid the kind of muscle ramps you can get if you do become dehydrated. We’ve had a great lead into this event, seeing so many of the PROTON employees and fans has been amazing. It really makes you realise how much the rally programme means to the company.”
Alister McRae said:
“There’s no doubting the challenge of the Malaysian Rally, it’s one of the toughest around. It’s amazing when you’re driving in these kind of conditions, it’s so hot and so humid. My co-driver [Bill Hayes] and I have been spending a lot of time on exercise bikes in a heat chamber to prepare ourselves, which seems to have worked, but the real test will be when the event starts. This isn’t a particularly fast and flowing event, there are lots of tight corners. But, after the great work the team have done in altering the characteristics of the engine, we’ve now got more torque lower down the revs, which will help to fire us out of those tight corners. We led this event last year and I really think we’ve got what it takes to win in Malaysia and that goes for the whole championship. I’d be very disappointed if Chris [Atkinson] and I aren’t battling all the way for the title. The commitment put into this car from MEM and PROTON is tremendous and Bill and I have matched that 100 per cent; I feel as excited and determined as I ever have done starting a new year. I love driving rally cars and I can’t wait to get going with this one.”
Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood (Head of PROTON Motorsports) said:
"There is no greater honour for PROTON than to be competing in front of our home fans. PROTON is a proud Malaysian car manufacturer of 25 years and the passion and performance we see in the PROTON Satria Neo S2000 is testament to the qualities we hold dear as a company. I am hugely excited to see Chris [Atkinson] and Alister [McRae] competing on our home stages and I'm hoping they will do PROTON proud with podium finishes. We must remember, however, there will be fierce competition from drivers like Mark Higgins, Cody Crocker, Katso Taguchi, Gaurav Gill and local ace Karamjit Singh. The Satria Neo S2000 is a high quality and high-performing motor car and we're all eager to see it in action this week."
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“I think this is the most excited I’ve been coming into the start of a season. The MEM team has worked very, very hard on this car and, from what we’ve seen in pre-season testing, we’ve come out with a strong and high-performance rally car. We had a year of learning with the PROTON Satria Neo S2000 last season and now we’re ready. It’s fantastic to come here to Malaysia, the home of PROTON, and see the real passion for the programme all around the country, not just in the PROTON factory, but nationwide. And now we have to deliver to those fans. On a practical level, the Malaysian Rally is a tough way to start the season. It’s one of the hardest events in the world, let alone the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, but challenges like this are why we are in the sport. And it’s not only the rally that’s tough, either – there is, as always, some fierce competition out there in this year’s APRC. But our drivers are delighted with the car and they’re ready for the year ahead.”
Event data:
Round: 1/6, FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Based: Kota Tinggi, Johor Bahru
Stages: 15
Liaison distance: 353.31km
Competitive distance: 233.76km
Total distance: 587.07km
Shakedown: Angsana Shopping Complex (Thursday March 31, 1530-1830)
Pre-event press conference: Grand Paragon Hotel (Friday April 1, 1000)
Post-event press conference: Grand Paragon Hotel (Sunday April 3, 1730)
Time difference: Malaysia is GMT+8hrs
Event timetable:
Friday April 1
Ceremonial start: Angsana Complex 1545
SS1 Angsana 1 (2.50km) 1635
Saturday April 2
SS2 Tai Tak – HQ (32.30km) 0923
SS3 Tai Tak – Pipeline (24.49km) 1021
SS4 Tai Tak – Fish Pond (17.69km) 1059
Service – Angsana Shopping Complex 1224
SS5 Tai Tak – HQ (32.30km) 1417
SS6 Tai Tak – Pipeline (24.49km) 1515
SS7 Tai Tak – Fish Pond (17.69km) 1553
SS8 Angsana 2 (2.50km) 1721
Service – Angsana Shopping Complex 1729
Sunday April 3
SS9 Tai Tak – Court House (12.42km) 0806
SS10 Tai Tak – Lukut (11.97km) 0830
SS11 Tai Tak – Mawai (14.26km) 0857
Service – Angsana Shopping Complex 1027
SS12 Tai Tak – Court House (12.42km) 1230
SS13 Tai Tak – Lukut (11.97km) 1254
SS14 Tai Tak – Mawai (14.26km) 1321
SS15 Angsana 3 (2.50km) 1454
Finish – Angsana Shopping Complex 1600
The 2011 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship
Malaysian Rally (April 1-3)
International Rally of Queensland (May 13-15)
Rally de Nouvelle Caledonie (June 17-19)
Rally of Whangarei (July 16-17)
Rally Hokkaido (September 30-October 2)
China Rally Longyou (November 4-6)
News release - 28/03/2011
PROTON drivers delighted with Satria Neo S2000 upgrades
The PROTON Motorsports Satria Neo S2000 will start this week’s Malaysian Rally with further developments on the engine and suspension.
Two cars will be driven on the opening round of this year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship by Chris Atkinson (Australia) and Alister McRae (Scotland). Both drivers are delighted with their first test of the latest-specification PROTON.
The changes to the car include the use of Reiger Racing Suspension, with the Dutch firm an acknowledged expert in the field. As well as the new dampers, the Satria Neo S2000 benefits from engine developments, which offer more torque from the stunning two-litre Malaysian machine.
Atkinson and McRae test the cars again tomorrow, ahead of the ceremonial start of the Johor Bahru-based event on Friday (April 1). The rally finishes on Sunday (April 3).
PROTON Motorsports will contest this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge as well as the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
Quotes:
Alister McRae said: “The car is definitely stronger coming to the start of the first event. We drove it for the first time over the weekend, in the same place that we did a test last year and immediately it felt very, very good. For example, where we had to go down to first gear to get out of tighter corners last year, we’re able to leave the car in second and the improved torque lower down really pulls the car away and out of the bend.”
Chris Atkinson said: “The dampers are such an important part of the car – they’re what connects everything to the road. Already from the first time you drive the car, you can feel improved traction and stability from the PROTON. That feeling translates into more confidence and more speed from the driver, it’s fantastic. I can’t wait to get the event started now!”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said: “Just from talking to the guys, you can see the way they feel about the work we’ve been doing over the last couple of months. It’s tremendously exciting to be starting the season in APRC. We have been working with the Reiger engineers, developing this new system, while simultaneously improving the linear-nature of the power development and we’ve come out of the winter with a very, very competitive car. Like the guys are saying, we can’t wait to get going!”
News release - 26/01/2011
Double European Rally Champion Basso joins PROTON Motorsports
Italian rally star Giandomenico Basso will drive a PROTON Satria Neo S2000 on six rounds of this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
The double FIA European Rally Champion will join two-time Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson at PROTON, ensuring the Malaysian team will field arguably the strongest driver line-up in the series.
Basso tested the Satria Neo S2000 for the first time in Italy earlier this month – and immediately felt comfortable in the British-prepared car. He will join Andersson for six asphalt rounds of the IRC this season (Rally Islas Canarias, Prime Yalta Rally, Geko Ypres Rally, Rali Vinho Madeira, Barum Czech Rally Zlin, Mecsek Rallye and Rallye Sanremo).
The 37-year-old completed 300 kilometres of testing in two days and will return to the PROTON for a further two days of running before his debut with the team on Gran Canaria next month (April 14-16).
PROTON Motorsports tested further drivers in Italy, with a third factory-supported Satria Neo S2000 likely to be running on selected IRC rounds later this season.
Giandomenico Basso said:
“I am very happy to join PROTON Motorsports. When I drove the car in Italy, I felt two things: I felt the car was good and I felt a warmth in the team – I know I can work well with PROTON. The engine felt strong straight away, we have some small work to do to get power into different areas, but it’s good. The car was also easy to drive, which is really important, especially when you have events which can have changeable conditions – it gives you confidence. We know we have some work ahead in order to improve the overall perfomances to bring the Proton Satria close to the top group and we are excited about that. I’m really looking forward to the first event with the team, everything is very positive and it’s great to be back working with a manufacturer.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“We’re delighted to have Giandomenico joining us for the IRC programme. He comes with a wealth of experience of the sport at this level and there’s no doubt he’s going to give us an extra edge on the rallies where he’s competing. Everything went very well with Giandomenico from the start. The two days of testing he did were great, we had no issues and we got on really well. We completed some engine work during the test, looking at different engine strategies, and some set-up work. He was pleased with the car and we were pleased with him. We’ve got more developments coming on the car all of the time: the suspension is the next area we are looking at.
“This is an exciting time for PROTON Motorsports. Not only have we finalised the IRC programme with this exciting development, but we have the potential for a third car on some [IRC] rounds – there’s a huge level of interest in the car and the team right now. And, let’s not forget, we’ve got Malaysia Rally, the first round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship coming up next month. We finished last year’s Asia Pacific series with a win – and we’re looking to get 2011 under way in exactly the same fashion with our APRC drivers Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson.”
About Basso…
Giandomenico began his motorsport career aged eight at the wheel of a kart. He competed at all levels in karting before switching to rallying at the age of 21.
Basso has gone on to become one of Italy’s most successful rally drivers. After just missing out on a podium in the Junior World Rally Championship in 2002, he went on to dominate the European rally scene, taking the FIA European Rally Championship title twice in four years (2006 and 2009).
Basso won the inaugural Intercontinental Rally Challenge title in 2006, with wins on the Ypres Rally and Madeira Rally.
He won his home title, the Italian Rally Championship in 2009.
Basso drove for the Turin-based Abarth factory team for four years between 2006 and 2009.
Andersson signs for PROTON Motorsports
January 20, 2011
Sweden’s Per-Gunnar Andersson has signed to drive for PROTON Motorsports in this year’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge.
The 30-year-old made his debut with the team on the Monte Carlo Rally, round one of the IRC, this week and is looking forward to driving the Satria Neo S2000 throughout 2011.
“It’s fantastic to have a season of driving confirmed,” said Andersson. “The Satria is a great car and to have the chance to be working with a manufacturer like PROTON is very good news for me. There is some work to do with the car, we know that, but in the short time I have been with the team preparing for Monte Carlo, we have made some big steps forward and I have every confidence that working with Chris [Mellors, team principal] and the whole of PROTON we can really make a very good year in 2011.”
Andersson’s ability as a driver is beyond question; he has won two world titles already, capturing the 2004 and 2007 Junior World Rally Championship crowns with Suzuki. Andersson was also selected to spearhead Suzuki’s first ever assault on the full World Rally Championship in 2008. Last season, he was drafted into the Stobart M-Sport Ford World Rally Team and finished seventh on his maiden outing in a Focus RS WRC.
PROTON Motorsports team principal Chris Mellors is delighted to have secured a double world title winner for 2011. He said: “Anybody who has seen P-G driving up close can be in no doubt about the kind of speed he is capable of. We’re really looking forward to working with him this season. With Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae confirmed for the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship and P-G confirmed for the IRC, we’re looking at a very strong driver line-up through this year. There’s no doubt this is going to be a very exciting season for PROTON Motorsports.”
PROTON Motorsports will enter two Satria Neo S2000s in this year’s IRC and will announce who joins Andersson in the team for the second round of the series (Rally Islas Canarias, April 14-16) in the near future.
Monte Carlo Rally update
January 19, 2011
P.G. Andersson made his debut with PROTON on the Monte Carlo rally today
PROTON Motorsports suffered a disappointing start to the opening day of the Monte Carlo Rally, with neither Satria Neo S2000 making it back to Valence this evening.
The team arrived at the centenary edition of the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge with high hopes of a good result, following positive pre-event testing and engine developments for the PROTON. Double Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson made a solid start on his debut in a Satria Neo S2000, running just outside the top 10 on the opening stage of the world’s most famous rally.
Unfortunately for the Swede, his run came to an end eight kilometres into the second stage, when his Satria suffered damage from an early puncture.
Atkinson’s car was halted near the start of Le Moulinon-Antraigues with an electrical issue. With no superally available to the competitors, both PROTONs have retired from the IRC opener.
Quotes
Chris Atkinson said:
“When I woke up this morning, I was really looking forward to driving the car. There’s nothing like the feeling of driving one of these rally cars as fast as you can down a stage, it’s awesome and it’s why we do what we do. And everything was cool from the start, no dramas, warmed the tyres up, off the line, everything was good, then nothing. We were less than a kilometre in and the car stopped. The engine had cut and there was nothing, no electrics at all. We couldn’t start the car. I tried to fix it, but there was nothing we could do. The team have looked at the data now and the problem was caused by a voltage surge which blew the control box. This has never happened to us before in testing or anything, it’s an absolute mystery – but when things don’t go your way, they really don’t go your way. The frustration is that we had the engine working really well in the test, it was great. The performance is definitely coming. It's actually a really unusual feeling on the event, this was the first time I’ve retired on the first stage of an event and been completely out of the rally. I’m not a huge fan of superally [the regulation permitting crews to re-enter events on the following day], but I really would have been today. It just seems such a waste that we’ve now got two perfect rally cars sitting here doing nothing; the fans would love to have seen the cars on the stages tomorrow and P-G and I would love to have been driving them.”
P-G Andersson said:
“The first stage was good, no problems. I wasn’t pushing too hard, it was the first stage and we wanted to settle down. About five kilometres into the second stage, there was a double right-hander into a left, the car slid a little wide. I saw a ditch coming, there were some leaves in the ditch, but I thought it would be okay. It wasn’t, there was a big stone hiding under the leaves; we hit the stone and broke the front-left wheel rim, which caused us to have a puncture. Three kilometres later, while we were braking for a hairpin, one of the arm’s broke on the car and the wheel turned out. That was it, there was nothing we could do. We had to stop. I tried to fix it, but it was very doubtful that we would have got the car to service after the next stage. It’s really disappointing that this is the result of our debut with PROTON. Clearly, the car has good potential and it would have been fantastic to take a result for the team on my first time in the Satria, but it hasn’t gone that way. The new engine was good, we were getting more power lower down in the rev range, it was easier to drive than before. It’s just so frustrating that we don’t have superally to go out and do some more driving in the car, it would have been very useful to get some testing mileage done.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“The whole team is feeling the frustration from what has happened today, that goes without saying. We were all really upbeat coming into Monte Carlo, we’d done four days’ testing in the Alps and another three back in the UK – and we hadn’t put a spanner on the car. And today we have one car out with a simple accident, if you can call it an accident, and one car out with a freak electrical issue. I honestly wonder if there’s anything left for us to see, it’s just incredible. It’s a real shame for Chris [Atkinson], he’s gone out very early, but P-G [Andersson] took a sensible approach and came out of SS1 in 11th, I’m confident we would have been well inside the top 10 if it hadn’t been for his problems. We came here with a revised specification of engine and that worked well, the drivers were pleased with the way it was working – delivering the torque lower down in the rev range. We’ve taken some steps and we have seen the benefits from those steps, that’s one of the good things we take from here. Despite what has happened, there’s still a huge positivity around the team, we all know what PROTON Motorsports and this car is capable of. We’re unlocking the potential, there’s more to come."
Monte Carlo Rally preview
January 16, 2011
PROTON Motorsports’ season gets underway on Wednesday, on the most famous event of them – the Monte Carlo Rally.
For the first time ever, the French Alps will reverberate to the Satria Neo S2000’s stunning soundtrack as Chris Atkinson (Australia) and P-G Andersson (Sweden) aim to follow in the footsteps of some of the sport’s greatest ever names to win the Monte Carlo Rally.
While this is the first time for the car in Monte Carlo, both drivers have a solid track record on what’s widely recognised as one of the world’s most treacherous rallies. Running through the mountains in the middle of winter provides an ever-changing range of weather conditions and grip levels. As the crews round the mountain from the sunshine on the south-side to the shade of the north, clear asphalt can turn to sheet ice in the turn of a corner. But, waiting for them at the finish, are the azure blue waters of the Mediterranean and the world-famous principality of Monaco.
Away from the rally, Monaco is famous for its casinos – and this week provides the teams with their biggest gamble of the season. That gamble involves tyre choices, pretty straightforward on other events, it’s anything but on the Monte. Typically, a stage starts lowdown the mountain – below the freezing level – but then the competition runs up into the ice and snow before descending to the finish on dry or wet asphalt. What do you do? Slick, wet, intermediate, ice tyre or full snow? This rally can be won and lost on a single tyre choice.
Important as the Monte Carlo Rally is, this year’s event is even more so as the organisers, the Automobile Club de Monaco, celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first ever Monte. That impressive centenary is reflected in the worldwide following for this opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, with Eurosport screening 12 of 13 stages live.
PROTON Motorsports has worked flat out through the off-season, ensuring the two Satria Neo S2000s arrive at Wednesday’s start in Valance in perfect condition. The cars have a new specification of engine and damper and will provide a significant challenge to the IRC’s established order. Having contested selected rounds of last year’s series, 2011 will be PROTON’s first major IRC programme and the British-based squad are looking forward to a solid start.
MEM, the firm which prepares PROTON’s Satria Neo S2000s, are no strangers to success on the Monte Carlo Rally having taken a one-two finish in the Production Car category in 2006.
This time around the stakes – like those being played for in Casino Square – are higher as PROTON roll the dice on the most famous rally of them all.
Quotes
Chris Atkinson said:
“Last time I did the Monte Carlo Rally, I finished on the podium, so I have some pretty good memories of the event. It’s a tough rally, there’s no doubt about that, with the conditions changing constantly. But we’ve had a good test, it’s great to be back in the car and driving again, this event is the natural start to a rally driver’s season, so it’s fantastic to be here. I haven’t competed much on asphalt since Ypres last year, so the test was really important for me to kind of dial myself back in. We tried all sorts of tyre combinations and suspension set-ups, which is crucial for this event – and we were pretty fortunate with the weather as we had wet and dry running on both the roads we were testing on. I’m just looking forward to the start now, can’t wait to get driving the PROTON again.”
P-G Andersson said:
“I’m really happy with the way the test went. We did two days and a lot of kilometres. Like my first test in the PROTON [in December], the car responded well to the changes we made to it. We drove in rain and in the dry, so, after the snow on the first test, we have now covered all of the possible conditions for Monte Carlo. It’s not going to be an easy event, it never is. There’s a good entry with a lot of very good drivers, but we didn’t have any problems at all in the testing we did with the car. I’m not going to predict a result, all I want is a trouble-free run. If we can get that, then anything can happen on this rally. We have all seen the way the Monte Carlo Rally can work before, you have the first stage and everything is normal, then after the second stage you can lose lots of cars and everything has gone a little bit crazy. When the grip is always changing, it’s that kind of rally. It would be nice if the weather stayed dry, to give us some predictable conditions, but if it’s a typical Monte with lots of changes of weather and grip, then this can make it interesting. We know from the test that we have a very good chassis with good grip in all of the conditions.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said:
“Monte Carlo is one of the world’s classic rallies, but it’s also among the most capricious – a great way to start PROTON Motorsports’ season in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. We’ve had four very good days of testing for this rally. The drivers are happy and the whole team is happy and relaxed. It’s impossible to try and predict a result on a rally like this one, but what we are certain about is our preparation for the first event of 2011: they couldn’t have been better. We completed rally distance in the tests before the event and didn’t have to put a spanner on the car, so we’re very happy with that. The number one aim for PROTON Motorsports is to come away from Monte Carlo with some solid points on the board, to set us up well for the year ahead. I’m really looking forward to the event, though. Like I said, everything has gone well pre-event and now we want to carry that positivity into the rally itself. Both Chris and P-G have experience of the Monte, with Chris’s last outing netting him a podium – we’d settle for a similar result next week.”
Event data
Round 1/1, Intercontinental Rally Challenge
Based: Valence/Monaco
Stages: 13
Liaison distance: 1,004.69km
Competitive distance: 337.06km
Total distance: 1,341.75km
Pre-event press conference: 1700 Tuesday January 18, Valence
Post-event press conference: 1230 Saturday January 22, Monaco
Time difference: France/Monaco is GMT+1hr
Event timetable
Wednesday January 19
SS1 Le Moulinon-Antraigues (36.87km) 1005
Tyres service Vals 1055
SS2 Burzet-St Martial (41.06km) 1140
SS3 St Bonnet-le-Froid-St Bonnet-le-Froid (25.22km) 1411
Tyres service Lalouvesc 1456
SS4 St Bonnet-le-Froid-St Bonnet-le-Froid (25.22km) 1620
Service Valence 1815
Thursday January 20
SS5 St Jean-en-Royans-Font D’Urle (23.05km) 1223
SS6 Cimetiere de Vassieux-Col de Gaudissart (24.13km) 1304
Service Valence 1444
SS7 St Jean-en-Royans-Font D’Urle (23.05km) 1607
SS8 Cimetiere de Vassieux-Col de Gaudissart (24.13km) 1648
Service Valence 1813
Friday January 21
SS9 Montauban Sur L’Ouveze-Eygalayes (29.89km) 0908
Service Monaco 1353
SS10 Moulinet-La Bollene-Vesubie (23.41km) 1915
SS11 Lantosque-Luceram (18.81km) 1958
Service Monaco
SS12 Moulinet-La Bollene-Vesubie (23.41km) 2325
SS13 Lantosque-Luceram (18.81km) 0008
Saturday January 22
Ceremonial finish Monaco 1100
Andersson delivers on first test in PROTON
December 18, 2010
Double Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson has completed his first test in the PROTON Satria Neo S2000 he will drive on next month’s Monte Carlo Rally.
The 30-year-old Swede drove the Satria for two days just south of Grenoble earlier this week and was delighted with the PROTON. Andersson will join regular PROTON driver Chris Atkinson in the team’s first assault on the opening round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the Monte Carlo Rally.
Both Andersson and Atkinson will return to the French Alps early next month when they will carry out an extensive pre-event test in preparation for what’s being billed as one of the toughest and most competitive rallies of the season.
For Andersson’s first drive, the PROTON ran in its current 2010 specification, with the next evolution of the two-litre engine ready for his next test. He completed more than 200 kilometres of trouble-free running in heavy snow.
Quotes
P-G Andersson said: “I knew from a long time ago, from talking to the other drivers, that the PROTON chassis was good – and it really is good. I’m very pleased with the first test. As the conditions on the test changed a little bit, we made some changes to the chassis and you could feel those changes straight away. It was good to get plenty of running on studded tyres before the Monte. By the end of the second day of the test, we did have a clean line coming on the road and we were able to run without the studs, but it would be good to get some time on dry asphalt on the next test. I’m really looking forward to the event now. I feel positive with the car and the team. The Monte is going to be a very big event for everybody, there are a lot of very good drivers coming out for the event and the competition will be tough. But I’m very happy with the PROTON and where I am for the start of the season.”
Chris Mellors (team principal) said: “We’ve been very impressed with what P-G achieved from his first two days in the car. He’s gelled immediately with the team and we’re all looking forward to working together next season. We got some great winter conditions for the test, it was between minus nine and minus 13 degrees for the two days. P-G did plenty of driving, including some running in the dark and he was very happy with the car. It was a very productive two days, but the next test, next month, is where we will finalise the set-up for P-G and Chris before the start of the Monte. This is a great way for PROTON Motorsports to end 2010, ahead of what’s clearly going to be an even more exciting 2011!”
Briefing:
PROTON Motorsports
The Malaysian manufacturer will contest the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship with two of the sport’s biggest names, Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae, driving the British-built Satria Neo S2000s. McRae and Atkinson will be looking to build on the one-two finish they achieved on the final round of this year’s APRC in China. In addition to its Asian commitment, PROTON Motorsports will compete on 10 rounds of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the world’s most competitive series for Super 2000 rally cars.
The Monte Carlo Rally
Running from Wednesday January 19 to Saturday January 22. The world’s oldest rally celebrates its 100th anniversary next month. Starting in Valence, this exceptionally tough event runs through the Ardeche region before ending with the legendary road from Moulinet to La Bollene-Vesubie in the Alpes Maritimes; this particular stage includes possibly the most famous mountain pass in motorsport: the Col de Turini. The popularity of the world’s most famous rally knows no bounds, the event has been oversubscribed three times and there will be standing room only when the champagne corks pop outside the Prince’s Palace of Monaco at the finish. For those unable to make the trip, the television coverage of this year’s Monte Carlo Rally is also making history, by being the first IRC round to run with live coverage of every stage from Eurosport.
PROTON to challenge in FIA Asia-Pacific and IRC series
December 5, 2010
PROTON Motorsports will start its 2011 programme of events with next month's Monte Carlo Rally, where regular driver Chris Atkinson will be joined by P-G Andersson.
Two-time FIA Junior World Rally Champion Andersson (Sweden) brings plenty of experience to the PROTON Motorsports, having previously driven for the Suzuki and Ford World Rally Teams.
While confirming its drivers for the January 19-22 Intercontinental Rally Challenge opener, PROTON can also confirm it will contest 10 rounds of the IRC and the full FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship with the Satria Neo S2000.
In addition to Atkinson and Andersson, Scotsman Alister McRae will remain with the Malaysian manufacturer for next season, contesting the APRC series and selected rounds of the IRC.
For now though, all eyes are on the French Alps and the forthcoming Monte Carlo Rally. Next year's rally will be one of the most eagerly anticipated events in the motorsporting calendar as the world's oldest rally celebrates its centenary year. First run in 1911, the 2011 itinerary poses a considerably tougher challenge than it did 100 years ago.
Starting from Valence, in the heart of the Ardeche region, next month's event will take crews through the stages which have built the legend of this rally down the years. And, just when the competitors think the event can't get any tougher, they arrive at the overnight final loop which takes them over the classic Col de Turini - a stretch of road which has caused more than its fair share of upset, intrigue and delight in equal measure. And it's before the passionate and frenzied fans on top of the Turini that PROTON aims to deliver its first result of the season.
PROTON is already building new Satria Neo S2000s for next season, with the test car already heading south for the Alps to start testing with Atkinson and Andersson early next week.
The Monte Carlo Rally is nothing new to both PROTON's drivers, with Australian Atkinson arriving in the principality with three starts and three finishes on an event that's rated among the most difficult in the world. Atkinson has never finished outside the top six and collected a FIA World Rally Championship podium last time out in 2008.
Andersson has also contested the rally three times, taking a strong eighth place on the 2008 event.
Quotes:
Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir (Proton MD) said:
"We are extremely proud to be able to reveal our plans for the 2011 rally programme. This development represents yet more exciting news from PROTON, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year. It's incredible to think how far we have come for such a relatively young company. But this is just the beginning for PROTON. Thanks to the close alliance with MEM in the UK, the rally team will go from strength to strength, embracing the cutting-edge technology which runs through the PROTON road car range. Competing at such a high level of rallying across the globe offers PROTON the perfect opportunity to showcase its range of road cars. And all of those cars sold to our valued customers contain a little piece of our rallying DNA; the same spirit of performance, expertise and reliability which will undoubtedly carry the Satria Neo S2000 to the greatest of heights next season."
Chris Atkinson said:
"Starting the season with the Monte is awesome. As a rally driver, this is the traditional place where we always start our year. I've always gone well on the event, but it is really tough. Running high in the Alps in January, you never know what's really coming around the next corner: it could be dry asphalt, wet asphalt, snow or ice. It's a massive challenge for the team and the driver, with one of the most important aspects being to get the tyres right. I'm looking forward to continuing my strong record there with PROTON. As for the rest of the year, it's great to have everything sorted out with a really forward-looking team like PROTON. There was definitely a feeling of leaving some unfinished business in the APRC last season, so we'll be back bigger, better and stronger on some of the hottest and toughest rallies in the world next year."
P-G Andersson said:
"It's great to be joining the PROTON team for Monte, I can't wait to get the testing started. It's been a couple of years since I was on this rally the last time, but I have always made good stage times there and it's a rally I like. Of course, the conditions can make it tough, but if you have to gamble with the tyre choice then you can always make some big gains. Drivers tend to like grip from the car, so a dry Monte would be nice, but if we have a lot of snow it's always fantastic to drive in these conditions. For now, we are with PROTON for Monte, but we will be talking straight after the rally to see what is possible for the future. I'm very happy to join a team which is looking forward to a good future in the sport."
Alister McRae said:
"I'm really pleased to be involved with the team for 2011. We showed some great potential through last year and with everything in place, I think we can build on that for next season. The Asia-Pacific Rally Championship is the thrust of the programme for me and going into next year off the back of the first APRC one-two in China is great news for PROTON. I was third in the APRC this year and my priority is to improve on that, hopefully by two places!"
Chris Mellors (Team Principal) said:
"We've had an extremely positive few weeks since the end of our season, with PROTON confirming its significant investment in the car, the team and infrastructure for next season. To have the programme signed off is great news and to have PROTON so thoroughly behind us on this makes for a very exciting year ahead. On a more practical footing, we have already begun our testing for Monte Carlo. Next week, P-G [Andersson] will drive the car for the first time in the Alps, where he will join our other entry for the Monte, Chris Atkinson. We've made some steps this season, but with everything in place for next we're looking to really push the PROTON Motorsports ahead in 2011." |
