Proton On Podium In New Zealand

International Rally of Whangarei review

QUEENSLAND – July 5, 2010: The PROTON R3 Rally Team turned in precisely the confidence-boosting performance the team needed on this weekend's third round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, the International Rally of Whangarei, with Alister McRae taking second in his Satria Neo S2000.

Both Scotsman McRae and his team-mate, Australian Chris Atkinson, were on the pace throughout the New Zealand event. Former British Rally Champion McRae only missed out on winning the Asia Pacific Rally Championship round after double New Zealand Rally Champion Hayden Paddon received a wildcard entry for the APRC element of the Kiwi competition.

Both McRae and Atkinson were driving with a finish and points as their main priority on the two-day event, which ran in dry sunny conditions on Saturday and heavy rain today (Sunday). But, despite a slightly conservative approach from the PROTON R3 Rally Team, both drivers were regularly in the top three APRC times, despite giving best in terms of local knowledge to all the crews around them.

Atkinson was the quicker of the two Satrias out of the blocks on Saturday morning and the Queenslander kept his PROTON ahead of the McRae car until he was foiled by a freak failure of the alternator belt on the fourth test. Atkinson returned on Sunday in the best possible fashion with fastest time on today's sodden opener.

McRae, however, kept up the pressure at the sharp end of the leaderboard and was rewarded with an entirely untroubled second place.

The PROTON R3 Rally Team will now turn its attention to the fourth round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, the International Rally of Queensland at the end of the month.

round in Queensland. Like Alister said, we want to take that next step up the podium."