PROTON R3 DUO WINS BIG AT MSS ROUND 2

Drivers Syafiq Ali and James Veerapan delivered a crushing victory for PROTON in the inaugural running of the one-hour endurance race format in the Malaysian Touring Car Championship. Staring from pole position in Class 2 for production cars up to 1600cc, the PROTON pair claimed the chequred flag at Sepang International Circuit after completing a total of 22 laps, finishing one lap clear of any threat. In second place was the pair of Wong Yew Choong and Harry Chai, more than two minutes behind in a Honda EK9.
The PROTON R3 Racing Team 1600cc Satria Neo was entrusted to Syafiq who started the race and drove for nine laps before pitting for a driver change. Veerapan then drove to the end of the one-hour limit completing an additional 13 laps. The pair’s fastest lap time was 2 min: 39.089 seconds.
Introduced to replace the traditional sprint races, the new race format being implemented required the two drivers teaming up for a one-hour race that included a compulsory pit stop and driver change. Victory in Sepang this weekend seals two straight round victories for the PROTON team after both Syafiq and Veerapan clinched back-to-back race wins in the opening round of the season in March. “Syafiq and Veerapan consistently matched each other’s pace to drive home a textbook victory for the team. The Satria Neo also demonstrated exceptional performance and reliability over the one hour course,” said Team Principal Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel.