Proton clinch APRC manufacturer’s and driver’s titles

Great feat: (from left) Proton group marketing, branding and motorsports director John Chacko, Proton Motorsports Rally Team principal Chris Mellors, Syed Zainal Abidin, driver Alister McRae and Proton Motorsports head Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood.

NATIONAL car manufacturer Proton Holdings Berhad achieved a triumphant result when it clinched the coveted Asia-Pacific Rally Championship manufacturer’s and driver’s titles. Pitting the Satria Neo S2000 against the likes of Mitsubishi and Subaru, Proton won four of the six APRC rounds this year.

Proton’s victorious season also saw it become the first car manufacturer to win all eight major individual titles in the championship — the overall FIA APRC manufacturer’s title; FIA APRC driver’s title; the FIA APRC Teams Trophy; the FIA Asia Cup driver’s title; and the FIA Pacific Cup driver’s title. Proton’s Group N 1600cc two-wheel drive Satria Neo meanwhile, helped to clinch the remaining three titles that included the manufacturer’s title in the FIA APRC Rally Cup for two-wheel drive category; the FIA APRC Rally Cup two-wheel drive driver’s title; and FIA APRC Junior Cup driver’s title.

This is Proton’s first APRC win after seven years. A three-time winner of the APRC in 2001, 2002 and 2004, Proton returned for a full season to the APRC in 2010, finishing second place in the APRC Manufacturer’s championship. “All in all, it has been a phenomenal year for us in competition,” said Proton group managing director Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir who attributed the company’s success to its philosophy of being “Committed to be Better.”

“At Proton, we are committed to be better and this extends to both competition and in the manufacturing of production vehicles for the global market. “We are also committed to winning, and excelling in competition significantly supports our aspiration of becoming a truly competitive global car manufacturer.” Events like the APRC provide Proton with enormous exposure, with television viewers in over 129 countries and reaching out to an estimated audience of more than 390 million viewers worldwide. “For car manufacturers, motorsports injects plenty of excitement into a brand or a particular model, and it provides a platform in which technology and technical know-how can be developed and applied to future road-going models,” said Syed Zainal Abidin.

A clear example of this, he added, was in the strong foundation in ride and handling characteristics shared by both the winning Group N two-wheel drive 1600cc Satria Neo and what customers can experience in a production model Satria Neo, and other current Proton models. Proton had earlier this year jointly-developed the Group N Satria Neo rally car with renowned Japanese tuner Cusco to be sold to competitors in Japan taking part in both the APRC and Japanese Junior Rally Championship.

An even more meaningful achievement is the fact that the rally car has also become the very first Proton and Malaysian-manufactured car to be made into a rally car, in Japan. “Beyond its promotional benefits, it is Proton’s goal to have our achievements and the technology derived in competition transcend into our future generation of vehicles,” Syed Zainal Abidin said.

-thestar online.