Atkinson Powers Satria Neo S2000 Into The Lead In New Zealand

PROTON’s Chris Atkinson powered the Satria Neo S2000 to a remarkable opening day to finish the first eight special stages of the first leg in the lead of the International Rally of Whangarei in New Zealand. Atkinson finished the day with a 6.2 second lead from local favourite Hayden Paddon, with PROTON team mate Alister McRae in third spot.

Rallying in cold and wet conditions as a result of intermittent rain amidst the backdrop of smooth flowing special stages, Atkinson began his day cautiously finishing eighth fastest in the opening 13.6km special stage. The Satria Neo S2000 however, proved advantageous over the next immediate and long 40.63km special stage which allowed him to close the gap on rally leader Paddon in the Subaru Impreza WRX Sti. By the end of the third special stage, a 23.75km run, Atkinson shot into the lead with a 14.5 second lead over Paddon, which he held on until the end of the day.

“We had a brilliant first day with the Satria Neo S2000 performing impeccably fast, especially over the long twisty stages,” said Atkinson who is chasing his third successive victory in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). PROTON had finished second in the rally last year.

With 76 teams competing in the two-day rally, among the early retirements were Indonesian Rifat Sungkar who went off the road in the second stage, local driver Sloan Cox, Chinese driver Hao Yuan and Japanese Seijchiro Taguchi all behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo.

“It’s been a good trouble free rally today with the Satria Neo S2000. The car definitely has the pace to win the rally, and that has been our main target as always. Paddon is currently leading the Production Car World Championship and is a tough competitor to look out for and hopefully we will be able to finish ahead of him on his home ground. We look forward for another good day tomorrow,” said Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, head of PROTON Motorsports.

Equally impressive in the rally were the PROTON Cusco Rally Team with Karamjit Singh and team mate Akira Bamba placed 20th and 22nd overall in the 1600cc Proton Satria Neo. A third 1600cc Proton Satria Neo in the hands of Indian driver Sanjay Ram is currently lying 26th overall. Both Karamjit and Akira currently lead the two-wheel drive APRC category.

The second and final leg of the rally will be contested over another eight special stages.-paddocktalk.com