It was a well deserved victory for Proton as driver Chris Atkinson took the outright victory at the International Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand behind the wheel of the Satria Neo S2000, marking the team’s third successive victory in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
The three wins of out the four rounds contested in the APRC further consolidated Proton’s top position in the driver and manufacturers standings with just another two rounds to be contested for the remaining of the APRC calendar.
It was a one-two finish as well for Proton as Alister McRae came in seventh in the rally but was second amongst the registered APRC entrants, pushing him up to second behind Atkinson and taking maximum points for the team. In fact, McRae was running as high as third for most of the day in a tight battle with Kiwi Richard Mason who was trailing but a spin in SS15 saw him drop to seventh.
The perfect weekend was further cemented for Proton as they clinched the top two spots in the two-wheel drive class as well with Karamjit Singh and Akira Bamba coming out tops for the Proton Cusco Rally Team 1600cc Satria Neos. The duo also placed fourth and fifth respectively in the overall APRC standings for the rally.
Victory in Whangarei for Atkinson was his third following Malaysia and New Caledonia. The former World Rally Championship (WRC) driver had a relatively trouble-free weekend, setting fastest times on five of the eight special stages on the final day to finish 12.4-seconds ahead of local driver Hayden Paddon in a Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
“Proton finished second here last year and to win this time round reflects on the amount of work that has gone into developing a rally-winning car. The car was trouble free all weekend and I didn't have to do much with the setup, with tyre choices deciding the day. It wasn't an easy rally though with Paddon putting lots of pressure on me all weekend and we’re now looking forward to Hokkaido, Japan,” said Atkinson.
The weather did wreck the chances of some of the drivers though as the cold and wet conditions added an extra degree of challenge. Among the retirees from the rally were Katsuhiko Taguchi and team mate Gaurav Gill of Team MRF while Pertamina Cusco Racing’s Rifat Sungkar also headed for an early shower. All three were behind the wheels of Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Xs.
The penultimate round of the APRC will be flagged of in Hokkaido, Japan, in September with the curtain closing on the calendar for 2011 with the China Rally in November.
