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Proton heads for Japan
Proton looks to impress on the second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship
The Proton R3 Rally Team has arrived in Japan for the second round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship - Rally Hokkaido - which starts from Makubetsu on Friday evening.
After impressing with a string of fastest times and the rally lead on last month's opening round in Malaysia, drivers Alister McRae and Chris Atkinson have vowed to come back even harder on this the second event in the of the seven-round series.
McRae, co-driven by Australian Bill Hayes, led the event with a fine drive in some of the hottest conditions he has ever had to cope with, although he suffered a minor engine fault on his Satria Neo S2000 and will be keen to rebound with a strong result in Japan.
"I have never competed in Japan before, so I've only got a rough idea of what to expect,” he said. “I've watched some footage from Rally Japan and a lot of the in-car, so this gives you a good flavour of the stages to come. They look quite fast in places, but really narrow as well. They don't seem to flow too much. I would say the key to this event is going to be getting an accurate set of notes from the recce. The big thing for us in Japan is that this event really should suit the car more than Malaysia did - and we led that rally, which shows the pace we've got in the Proton.
“The one thing we shouldn't have in Japan is the same kind of fierce heat we felt in Malaysia, which will make the car much more comfortable. I think our big competition here is going to be Katsu Taguchi. He won the opening round in Malaysia and, this being his local event, he's done it a great number of times. The result we're after for Proton is two podiums, with Chris or myself on the top step."
Atkinson ended his debut event for the Proton R3 Rally Team fourth in the championship standings after an extremely promising start and should be amongst the favourites having performed strongly on Japanese soil during his time in the WRC with Subaru.
"I've got fond memories of Japan; it's the place where I scored my first podium, taking third place on my first visit there in the Impreza WRC in 2005,” he said. “The stages are good. They're fast and smooth in places, but they are quite technical. There's a lot of the road running under the trees which can make it hard to see the precise line you want to take through the corner. You do need very accurate pace notes on this event. The last rally in Malaysia was my first real time in the car and, as such, I was still getting used to my new surroundings. In Japan this week, I'll be more used to the car and I'll be looking to push harder and see what we can do. The Proton felt fantastic last time out - and that was on stages which didn't really suit the Super 2000 car - so I can't wait to get it into Japan to see what we can do. I've always like rallying in this part of the world.
“The people are all really enthusiastic towards the sport and friendly and the food is fantastic. All in all, I'm really looking forward to Rally Hokkaido and, most of all, to getting the result which everybody at Proton and MEM deserve."
can we expect WRC or IRC next year??!! |
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can we expect WRC or IRC next year??!!
i really..really hope....! heheh..( BEST)... |
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Reply 102# zvicmorrow
jangan gembira dulu, sponsor kena cari dulu
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Reply zvicmorrow
jangan gembira dulu, sponsor kena cari dulu
ShadowChaser Post at 20-5-2010 14:57 
hah..belum ada sponsor lagi ke..? |
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PROTON SATRIA NEO S2000 WINS RACE AGAINST HELICOPTER...
PROTON and Chris Atkinson got their weekend off to a great start by winning the ‘Rally car vs Helicopter Race' held recently at the Sunshine Coast airport in Queensland, Australia. The race kicks-off an entire week of events leading up to the International Rally of Queensland, the fourth round of the 2010 FIA-Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
Closed for an hour, the airport coordinated a race between a Proton Satria Neo S2000 car and a Robinson R44 helicopter and while it was extremely close on both occasions Atkinson was able to cross the line a few metres ahead of the helicopter.
"It was a great way to start our event and I hope we can make it three wins in row, by winning the rally this weekend", said an elated Atkinson after the race.
Australian Chris Atkinson is a hugely popular rally driver with notable achievements as a World Rally Car driver. He has driven for the Subaru World Rally Team since the 2005 season. His achievements include finishing second at the 2008 Rally México and Rally Argentina. Other podium placing include third place finishes at the 2005 Rally Japan and the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally.
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Post Last Edit by zvicmorrow at 17-9-2010 00:50
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Panizzi brings his Proton S2000 home in 20th overall out of 114 competitors, making up for the earlier disappointment of McShae's retirement. The rally is won by Italian, Paolo Andreucci. |
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satria neo ni memang power dan stylish walaupun ruang agak sempit. even standards pun laju nak pecut |
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tahniah.....neo dapat 1...2 kat china |
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aku gelak je baca komen ntah apa2 kat CI pasal satria neo nie menang... |
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ape komen depa tu smp ko tergelak
hahhahahhhahaha |
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depa ckp neo ni laju gile ke ape? |
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tahniah.....neo dapat 1...2 kat china
akughi Post at 8-11-2010 16:11
tahniah..brand malaysia... |
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We’re reporting to you live from the Monte Carlo Rally, which is the opening leg of the 2011 Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). Yours truly is shivering in the town of Valence, France at the moment, which will be “base camp” for the next few days. By the way, the Monte Carlo Rally doesn’t start in glamorous Monaco, but ends there – the first 9 stages will be held around Valence, the final 4 around Monaco.
We’re of course here to cheer on our own Proton R3 Rally Team, which will be up against the big boys from Peugeot, Ford and Skoda, last year’s IRC champion. Big name drivers include Juha Hanninen (last year’s IRC driver’s champ with Skoda), Guy Wilks (Peugeot UK, ex Proton driver) Freddy Loix, Francois Delecour, Toni Gardemeister, Stephane Sarrazin (Peugeot Le Mans driver) and Petter Solberg driving a 207. Subaru fans will know their ex-WRC champ.
There will be 120 vehicles contesting the historic Rallye Monte Carlo, which turns 100 years old this year. It’s Proton’s first time contesting the event.
Contest winners with Chris Atkinson and P-G Andersson
Piloting the two Satria Neo S2000 cars (which look really fetching in new 2011 livery) will be Chris Atkinson and Per-Gunnar Andersson. In case you’re wondering, this is a top lineup; Aussie Chris is a former Subaru WRC works driver who finished third here in 2008, while Swede P-G is a double JWRC champ with Suzuki.
The rally starts tomorrow, but we’ve briefly met with the team already in a “shakedown” session where winners of “The Rallye to Monte Carlo” contest Mohd Akram and Nik Mohd Azhar got memorable taxi rides by the drivers. |
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“We’re not too concerned about being the underdogs, instead, this plays in our favour as we devote our focus and attention to achieving the desired pace, performance and reliability in pursuit of results.
“While it is too early to place any expectations, we believe we have a race-winning car, two world class and very talented drivers and a competitive team to make a big enough impression in IRC,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, Head of Proton Motorsports.
Team Principal Chris Mellors also declined to put any targets, saying that while the team is definitely gunning for wins and the championship in the APRC, IRC is a tougher challenge and it’s hard to know until racing starts tomorrow. When asked about the contract negotiations with P-G, the Jeremy Clarkson lookalike boss said that it’s going well and we’re likely to see the Swede in yellow for the rest of the IRC season.
We’ll bring you updates from the rally starting tomorrow, where four stages will be held in the mountains around Valence. Stay tuned!-credit paul tan.. |
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Reply 117# zvicmorrow
yeah..go go satria neo |
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Reply 118# weta_studio
tahun ni baru nmpak ada pencabar yg ternama dlm kelompok ini,spt juha haninen dan peter solberg bekas juara subaru imprezza..wu hu hu hu...
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Reply 119# zvicmorrow
ye betul
ni semua sebab tempat utk WRC amat terhad dan mahal  |
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Post time 20-5-2010 08:00 AM
Author
