Round 3 of the 2019 Malaysia Championship Series (MSC) saw Team PROTON R3 (R3) dominate M-production series races. Team R3 managed to procure a double victory which included a 1-2-3 finish in race two. The MSC Round 3 was held at the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) over the weekend.
Team Proton R3 fielded the Proton Suprima S, Iriz and the Saga. As this was production racing, this is essentially production cars that have been prepped for the track. For Race 1 qualifying, the Proton Suprima S driven by Mitchell Cheah qualified on pole position but his teammates, Fariqe Hairuman and Syafiq Ali in the Proton Iriz and James Veerapen in the Proton Saga had managed fourth and fifth on the starting grid. According to Proton, this was due to mainly not being able to find the perfect handling balance for both cars compared to the Suprima S.
During Race 1, the Proton Suprima S driven by Mitchell managed to win the M-Production class victory in the 2019 championship. The other two R3 cars finished in the position they started, which is in fourth and fifth place.
It was on Sunday during Race 2 where things got brighter for they chaps at R3. The finishing positions from Race 1 determined the starting order, where the trio of R3 Proton racing cars started in first, fourth and fifth. Somehow, it was all better this time as the Proton Iriz driven by Fariqe and Syafiq finised first followed by Mitchell in his Proton Suprima S and James in the Proton Saga. Quite a surprise considering how they fared earlier and how good the two smaller Protons were able to actually come close to the more sophisticated chassis of the Suprima S.
The race was the first time R3 had finished the race in the top-three positions and the result left Fariqe and Syafiq just two points behind the current championship leader for the M-Production class in the 2019 Malaysia Championship Series. According to Gary Lee, Team Principal of the PROTON R3 team, it shows the capability of the cars and also shows promise that these cars will be strong performers during the upcoming Sepang 1000km (S1K) endurance race.
Over the last 15 years, Team PROTON R3 has supported, participated and won some of the most prestigious motorsports events in Malaysia and the region. Highlights include overall victories at theMerdeka Millennium Endurance event in 2005 and 2006 as well as four victories at the S1K race in 2012, 2014, 2017 and last year, 2018. It has also been quite a roller-coaster ride for R3 since their inception years ago. They have actually survived changes in PROTON's management and goals, with the current management still keeping the R3 brand flying strong, albeit on a smaller, more focused scale these days.
These days PROTON is more focused in building up the brand from what it was before and motorsport has taken a smaller space than before. But racing and winning on Sunday, and then selling cars on Monday is still a viable means of marketing. Which explains the fact that PROTON are racing the cars they sell today. Aside from that, the wins and podium finishes also show that Proton cars are capable platforms that handle tuning very well. No surprises as ride and handling have always been Proton car's strongest suite.
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