Proton have officially unveiled its Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) ready Satria Neo Super 2000 at a two-day rally festival held at historic Chatsworth House in the UK.
The team, with two-times British rally champion Guy Wilks and co-driver Phil Pugh, will be piloting the Neo S2000 which has been designed and built by British team Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM).
The Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 will contest all seven remaining rounds of the 2009 IRC, starting with the Belgium Ypres Rally on June 18 to 20.
“Proton is positive about its capabilities to put up a strong challenge and MEM has done a great job with the Proton Satria Neo S2000 and it will continue to improve as the year progresses,” said Managing Director Proton Holdings Berhad, Syed Zainal.
Proton’s participation in the IRC challenge marks the Malaysian car manufacturer’s return to the global rally scene.
The last time Proton took part was in the 2002 Production World Rally Championship where the Proton sponsored Petronas Eon Racing Team took Malaysian driver Karamjit Singh to the championship also driving an MEM developed car.
The IRC 2009 calendar has already seen four events run so far with seven remaining rounds.
