Proton Flies, But A Helicopter Flies Faster.

SYDNEY – May 13, 2011: Proton’s domination of the skies over Queensland ended this morning, when the team discovered its Satria Neo S2000 wasn’t quite a match for a helicopter with twice the number of engines and five-times the power output.

Despite the best efforts of supersonic pilots Chris Atkinson and Alister McRae, the AGL Action Rescue Helicopter got the better of the Proton Satria Neo S2000 on two of the three races at Sunshine Coast Airport, Marcoola, this morning.

Atkinson had won the first meeting in the rain last year, but when the sun came out and the chopper pilot fired up both of his engines this morning, the current FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship leader Atkinson knew he was going to have his work cut out.

“We definitely had him off the line,” said Atkinson. “But the straights were a bit longer this time and with our car geared for the gravel roads through the forests, we sat on the rev limiter in top for about 200 metres. He flew past us on the straight, but then we got back past him at the turnaround. I thought we might be able to hold him – and we did once – but on the last race there was nothing we could do. It was a pretty amazing sight to see this thing come past just above you. It was a great race.”

The whole event was shown live on Channel Seven’s Sunrise show, with weather presenter James Tobin joining Atkinson for the final race.

The Malaysian firm’s focus now switches to this weekend’s International Rally of Queensland, round two of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.

“What we did this morning was a great event and a lot of fun,” said Atkinson, “but the rally is why we’re here. We have done a test with the Proton and the car felt great. The team has got more from the engine since we drove it in Malaysia and the chassis and suspension feel superb. This is a tough rally, though – and there is some very strong competition out there. I like the roads here, they’re a good challenge for the drivers. It looks like they’ll be pretty dry now, but after quite a lot of rain recently, there’s certainly going to be some damp patches in there to look out for. After finishing second in this race, we’re definitely looking to go one better at the weekend!”

The International Rally of Queensland gets underway from Imbil on Friday (May 13) evening.