The duo of James Veerapen and Syafiq Ali is back once again to represent Proton R3’s charge in conquering the 2014 Malaysian Super Series. Although the challenges posed by the competitors are getting fiercer along the way, getting both the cars on the podium back in Round 2 serves as a reminder that Proton R3 is still a fearsome team in the series.
Familiarizing himself with the still-new race machine, Syafiq Ali is already getting the hang of his Suprima S race car for Round 3. And this is evident through his best time in qualifying of 2:38.645, earning him the second spot on the grid to start the 1-hour race later on.
And with a great spot to start the race, the good start gave him the boost to temporarily take the first position in the race, before being overtaken by the #19 Team Sakura – Tedco Racing driven by Fitra Eri after half a lap. Syafiq gave Fitra a good fight throughout the race until the pit stop where after rejoining the race, car #19 managed to spread the lead.
But just as things were looking good for Syafiq and Proton R3’s new race car, an unexpected engine failure plagued the car at the very final moments of the race, robbing the young racing driver’s chance in even going past the chequered flag.
“Basically the engine just blew because in the middle of the race, the low oil pressure alarm went off. The team then asked me to keep pushing and take the car home. But then on the final lap at T9, the car lost its power, so I had to cruise to the finish line. Unfortunately, I could not make it as the car just gave up after the final corner,” said Syafiq.
Despite the disappointing end of a retirement, James Veerapen was able to lighten the mood up in the team as he managed to wrestle his way through the vicious crowd and take home a podium finish for Proton R3. Although the car still has some unresolved issues in hand, he managed to post a best time of 2:39.908 in qualifying, earning him the P4 on the grid.
During the race, a good start gave James the boost to take the third position before a Touring Production car came into way and halted his advance, giving Alvaro in the #39 Proton Satria Neo and the #63 Satria Neo driven by Desmond to catch up. While Alvaro was able to pass James, he got into the “most epic battle” with Desmond, staying only metres away from each other until the pit windows were open.
“I came in early when the pit window was open, and came back out to a relatively empty track; a few backmarkers here and there. Later in the race, I tried to catch Desmond’s partner, CY Ong. He then had a mishap at T12, giving me the chance to pass him. I then focused on trying to keep the distance between them,” said James.
Although he managed to secure the third position in the Malaysian Touring Production category, James added that “it would be nice if both cars could at least finish the race”. Nevertheless, we would like to congratulate James Veerapen for his great achievement, and hopefully they could resolve the Suprima S’ complications before Round 4.
