Alister McRae surged ahead of the leader board at the end of leg 1 of the china rally enroute to capturing the driver’s title in the FIA Asia Cup championship.
McRae drove the Proton Satria Neo S2000 to a trouble free rally to finish the first seven special stages one minute clear of Finnish driver Jari Ketomaa in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. In third place and currently in a duel with McRae for the overall driver’s title in the FIA Asia Pacific Championship is team mate Chris Atkinson a minute further behind Ketomaa.
“The car feels great and we were able to push hard from the very first special stage. The overnight rain meant conditions were tricky with some slippery stretches but we were fortunate to have been spared of any dramas.” said McRae.
Victory will almost certainly secure McRae the APRC driver’s title. Irrespective of who wins in china, proton has already clinched the top two positions in the driver’s championship of the APRC, and is now gunning for the manufacturer’s title against Mitsubishi.
“With both cars in the top three, we are in a good position for tommorow. We’ve already won 7 out of 8 of the key APRC titles, and are committed to win the one most important to us, which is the Manufacturers cup.” said John Chacko, Director of PROTON Group Marketing and Branding.
Despite going well with no problems, Atkinson meanwhile, appears to be off the pace. “I’ve driven as hard as I can all day, but the time’s are not what we expect at the moment. The team will try their best to do something with the car in the long service and we will see what we can do tomorrow.” said Atkinson.
“The team will certainly assess if there is any issue with the car and try to do whatever we can to help improve its performance during the long service at the end of the day,” said Datuk Abdul Razak, Head of PROTON Motorsports.
Also doing well in the Rally, are the duo of Karamjit Singh and Akira Bamba in their Front wheel-drive Proton Satria Neo Group N cars of the PROTON CUSCO Rally Team. Bamba is currently leading in 13th overall with Singh in 16th overall.
About PROTON Motorsports Division
PROTON Motorsports specializes in the research, development and production of race cars, special and performance-driven road going models and performance parts for the Proton range of vehicles.
About PROTON
PROTON, established in 1983, is Malaysia’s largest manufacturer of automobiles, and the only full-fledged OEM car manufacturer in South-East Asia. With operations in key markets from UK to the Middle East, and across South-East Asia and Australasia, especially in countries like China and Iran, PROTON produces cars to suit a range of consumer demands and preferences.
Its offerings include versatile and reliable four-door family vehicles, two-door hatchbacks for the young-at-heart, luxurious and stylish executive sedans, spacious and affordable multi-purpose vehicles, as well as the world-renowned sports cars from Lotus. Most importantly, PROTON models are now developed with Lotus Engineering, offering customers superior ride and handling experience in every drive.
PROTON’s inception as a key driver of national development has seen the brand accelerate its learning curve through technology transfer with strategic partnerships and technical collaborations. By listening to the needs of customers, PROTON cars are now steadily on track to achieve the mission for the future, with PROTON set to become a marque which builds cars with passion and soul; cars that are a delight to drive – and a pleasure to own.
