Two of three Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 cars finished in the top 10 at the end of Leg 1 of the Prime Yalta Rally in the Ukraine, which is also round four of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC). PROTON’s Giandomenico Basso was the highest placed in eighth position after the opening day’s two special stages and just 5.6 seconds adrift of current rally leader Belgian Thierry Neuville. Team mate P-G Andersson was a further three seconds behind to round up the top 10 front runners which was dominated by a field of European cars. Special stage 1 began in the outskirts of Yalta over a short 2.12km sprint before moving on to Livadija for the second special stage which was run over a distance of 5.49km. PROTON’s third entry, piloted by Ukrainian rally star and former USSR rally champion Oleksandr Saliuk Sr meanwhile, rallied to a strong 18th overall from the total of 42 registered IRC competitors in his first time out in the Satria Neo S2000 and some 26.7 seconds down the order.
The three-day event sees PROTON fielding its strongest line-up to date in the IRC. Against the backdrop of the Crimea region’s Ai-Petri Mountains on the north coast of the Black Sea, the event, run in Mediterranean climate, consists of 14 special stages run entirely on asphalt over a combined distance of 721.61km. Leg 2 will consist of six special stages to be run on Friday while the third and final leg on Saturday will also be run over another six special stages.
PROTON is currently fifth in the IRC Manufacturer’s standings with 16 points after three rounds. Meanwhile, PROTON’s signing of Oleksandr Saliuk Sr and co-driver Evgen Chervonenko has also set the stage for what has been defined as Ukraine’s most famous rallying partnerships and a historic moment for the nation’s rallying history. Saliuk Sr and Chervonenko had won the USSR Rally Championship 20 years ago and are recognised as being among the region’s fastest drivers in their era. Saliuk Sr’s son Alexander had earlier been scheduled to drive the third Satria Neo S2000 but suffered a broken arm.
