Proton plans to enter World Rally Championship

For those of you who also keep up to date with news from Lotus's parent company Proton, may be interested to hear that news of a two-car works team in the World Rally Championship next year is a real possibilty.

Proton are really getting behind the project and are very encouraged by what they have seen. A two-car team in the WRC is now the aim and the manegement now need to discuss the options at board level.

We always knew the new technical regulations were going to happen so hopefully we've got the timing just right with this car.
Although Proton won't register for IRC manufacturer points this year, Mellors is keen his creation enters as many events as possible, despite plans to field a brace of Satria Neos on Rallye Monte Carlo being shelved.

Mellors explains MEM's immediate plans for the Satria Neo:

We were keen to get Bryan Bouffier out again but Proton wanted us to showcase the car at Autosport International and there wasn't time to do both with Rally Ireland at the end of the month. We want to run on as many different surfaces as possible but we're still working on when to do our first event.
MEM are also trying to field a Proton Satria Neo S2000 on rounds of the British and Irish tarmac championships alongside an expanded testing programme.

http://www.rallybuzz.com/mem-proton-wrc-2010-mn/

cool. give us another team to support

Paul D13 wrote:cool. give us another team to support

And a good time for entering as well seeing teams like Subaru drop out ...

wonder where the suspension and handling will have been sorted.

While I don't think I'd spend my money on a Proton (having said that I've a Grande Punto..... ).
The car has the dimensions and wheelbase to be a fine well balanced package.

I can still remember footage of the Lotus Sunbeam on the stages.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8llqbAhLS

bound to have lotus bits on.and with some luck livery sponsership.

Lotus had a lot to do with the set up of the Proton Satria GTI which in fact I owned as my last car and certainly handled up to standards. The new Satria Neo, although only having options of 1.3 and 1.6 litre engines, once again Lotus have had a significant input in the suspension and chassis set up. Although Protons are not regarded as sporty or good cars in the UK market, they are extremely popular in Malaysia and surrounding countries. In fact I have been looking at getting myself a Proton Gen-2 as an everyday car, and being the parent company to Lotus they have my support and confidence.

Race.Rally.Research Proton Satria Neo

Have they used another cars floorplan etc. looks very rover 2 series to me

Petter Solberg is in talks with Proton over a potential World Rally Championship programme in 2010.

The 2003 world champion met with the Malaysian manufacturer's directors last week and is believed to be looking at a part-time campaign this season, coupled with testing and development work on the Satria S2000 for next year.

He is due to test a MEM-built S2000-spec car at some point next month, with a view to a deal for 2010, but Solberg says nothing has been finalised yet.

"The Proton is a nice car, it's a very detailed car," he told Autosport. "I met with them and that's it. For the future, it's hard to say."

Proton director Datuk Hj Adbul Razak Dawood admitted that the WRC is Proton's goal, and believes a successful programme could help the manufacturer to establish their reputation in Europe in the same way as Subaru did in the 1990s.

"The Satria is not known as a performance car, but we have a very big following in Asia and this car would turn that into the sort of cult following that Subaru developed," he said.

"The WRC is very interesting, we'd be fighting with the big boys - the chance to take on manufacturers like Ford and Citroen, albeit using a much smaller budget, is something we would welcome."

Solberg is continuing to work towards a drive in his home WRC round in Norway next month, having submitted an entry but not specified a car. He has been linked with a Citroen C4 seat, but says he has no deal with the French firm either.

"The problem is with the number of cars - there are just so many of them out there. I am trying to get a top car to try to win the rally," said Solberg.

"If that's not possible, I'm looking at another car to put on a show for the fans [believed to be a Xsara WRC]. This is not the option I want, but it might be the only one."

Thanks to some of my friends at the Proton Owners Club UK ...
Photos from the WRC rally in Ireland.