Last weekend saw the 2024 Sepang 1,000 km (S1K) endurance race being won by a privateer as all three works entries hit trouble. Amidst all the chaos, the Proton R3 team managed to salvage a respectable fifth in class in the new S70 R3 Malaysian Touring Car (MTC), the #82 entry driven by Ariff Azmi and Alister Yoong being its sole finisher.
The national carmaker had high hopes for its sedan leading into the race, even though it did not feature anywhere in the top four in qualifying. The lead #81 car was taken out of the race early doors, however, as Syafiq Ali was spun from behind and crashed into a wall on lap 8, forcing him into retirement.
Worse was to hit the #82 car, which was sidelined due to a technical issue, losing over 40 minutes in the pits and dropping down the order as a result. Yoong – son of former Formula 1 driver Alex Yoong – and Ariff fought back valiantly to finish in 27th overall and fifth in the top MTC class, an encouraging result after a five-year hiatus.
“Team Proton R3, its drivers and the Proton S70 R3 have added to Proton’s proud racing heritage by delivering a strong performance at the 2024 S1K race. While we targeted another overall win, the team was aware of the daunting task that lay ahead to compete with a brand new car against teams who had competed in races for the last three years and were much further ahead on the vehicle development curve.
“Ultimately, we have no complaints although an accident early in the race caused the retirement of car 81 while a technical issue in car 82 caused it to lose time in the pits and dropped it out of overall contention. So while the final result could have been better, a lot of data was collected over the weekend and finishing fifth in the MTC class has set a baseline for R3 to launch its assault on the 2025 racing season,” said Proton Edar CEO Roslan Abdullah.
Proton says it has not decided on the S70 R3’s next competitive appearance; however, the #82 car will be displayed at the Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS) from December 5 to 11.
The 2024 race was won by Hirev Dream Chaser in the #1 Suzuki Swift Sport ZC32S driven by Hayden Haikal, Rahul Raj Meyer dan Daim Hishamudin. Starting from fourth on the grid, the trio was consistently in the fight at the top as the larger carmaker-backed teams faced technical troubles. Nailed-on favourites Honda Malaysia Racing Team (HMRT) suffered a double retirement, the #27 City Sedan grinding to a heartbreaking halt while leading late on, just ten laps from the end.
Meanwhile, the #37 Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia Vios was scuppered by an even longer stoppage than the #82 car, eventually finishing 53rd and seventh in class. Out in front, the #1 car completed the 181 laps in eight hours 14 minutes, over two and a half minutes ahead of the #38 Wing Hin Motorsports Toyota Yaris; the #96 Tedco Racing Honda Fit RS GK5 completed the podium.
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