Proton R3 was the motorsport and performance division of the Malaysian automotive brand Proton. The name R3, pronounced ar tiga in Malay, is an abbreviation of "Race. Rally. Research". By the end of May 2017, Proton announced that funds will be channeled to the company's core operations instead.

History

Proton R3 was established in 2003 as a division of Proton. It was originally formed as a successor to Proton's motorsport division, Proton PERT which was active between 1987 and 2002. The former division was a collaboration between Petronas, Mitsubishi Motors' Ralliart and Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON), to form Petronas EON Racing Team, or Proton PERT.

Proton PERT

Proton PERT was formed in 1987, as a way for Proton to gain exposure in the motorsport scene, especially that in rally racing. During this period, Proton worked closely with Mitsubishi's Ralliart to help specialise in their cars to take part in various races between 1991 and 2002. During its early years, Proton PERT was fairly successful, managing to gain success in the Group S rally with their Proton Iswara 4WD Turbo Group S between 1991 and 1994, and scoring a win during the 2002 Production World Rally Championship (PWRC).

Proton R3

After the formation of Proton R3 in Shah Alam, Selangor, it replaced Proton PERT in Proton's motorsport scene. Proton's new motorsport division continued to take part in championships with team partner, British based Mellors Elliot Motorsport (MEM), such as during the 2009 FIA's Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), and the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) with the Proton Satria Neo S2000, up till 2011. During the 2009 IRC, Proton R3 finished in 2nd place during the 2009 Rally Scotland, with drivers Guy Wilks, Bryan Bouffier and Alister McRae, scoring 13 points.

During the 2010 Intercontinental Rally Challenge season, Proton R3 had many retirements and did not score a single point. The drivers were Alister McRae, Chris Atkinson, Niall McShea, Keith Cronin, Gilles Panizzi and a privateer with factory support, Tom Cave. The best result from the 2010 season was Gilles Panizzi securing 22nd place at the 2010 Rallye Sanremo, although it was the only finish for the Proton Satria Neo S2000 in that season.

In 2011, during the opening round of the 2011 IRC season, at the famous Rallye Monte Carlo, Proton entered two cars. Chris Atkinson retired during the first special stage and Per-Gunnar Andersson during the second special stage. Later that same year, Proton R3 managed to score a win at the China Rally, where it clinched the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship driver's and manufacturer's titles and capped off a dominant season for Proton R3.

Alister McRae continued to drive the Proton Satria Neo S2000 to its fourth victory of the season in six rounds when he completed the three-day China Rally, ahead of Finnish driver Jari Ketomaa in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, with teammate Chris Atkinson finishing third to make it an all Proton 1–2 in the APRC driver's championship. The Satria Neo S2000's dominant performance all year long also declared Proton the winner of the coveted APRC manufacturer's championship ahead of Mitsubishi and Subaru.

The results in China also saw Proton becoming the first car manufacturer to win all eight major individual titles in the FIA APRC which includes the overall FIA APRC driver's title, FIA APRC manufacturer's title, the FIA APRC Teams Trophy, the FIA Asia Cup driver's title, the FIA Pacific Cup driver's title, the manufacturer's title in the FIA APRC Rally Cup for two-wheel drive category, the FIA APRC Rally Cup two-wheel drive driver's title, and the FIA APRC Junior Cup driver's title.

Models

Proton R3 was also responsible with the tuning and upgrade of certain Proton models, such as the Proton Satria, Proton Saga and the Proton Iriz.

Proton Satria R3

First generation

The Proton Satria R3 was a limited edition, track-focused version of Proton's Satria hatchback, with only 150 units produced. It was a redefined version of the Satria GTi in collaboration with Lotus. Original Satria R3s utilised the same Mitsubishi-sourced 1.8-litre, inline-4 engine as the (albeit with a new free-flow exhaust system), capable of producing 140 bhp (105 kW) and 168 nm of torque. The body shell has been improved with double stitch welded monocoque chassis with front and rear strut tower brace bars. Body weight has been lightened as well.

Second generation

The Satria Neo R3 was unveiled in 2008, featuring a naturally aspired 1.6-litre engine producing 100 kW (136 PS; 134 hp) or 110 bhp (82 kW; 112 PS), which Proton says will deliver a "controlled yet exciting driving experience". Other upgrades include a sportier bodykit, 17-inch wheels, a lowered suspension setup derived from Lotus, an improved braking system, Recaro lightweight seats and a MOMO steering wheel.

Proton Saga R3 and Proton Iriz R3

The Proton Saga R3 and Proton Iriz R3, launched in 2021, are limited editions of the original third generation Proton Saga and Proton Iriz models respectively. The special editions come in black paint scheme with yellow highlights, upgraded interior, a modified bodykit and feature the Proton R3 badging predominantly. All of the changes are purely cosmetic to celebrate Proton’s success in the motorsports division.

IRC Results

Year Car Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 WDC Points WMC Points 2009 Proton Satria Neo S2000 Guy Wilks MON BRA KEN POR BELRet RUS5 POR11 CZERet ESP22 ITA13 SCO 7th* 15* 5th 13 Bryan Bouffier MON BRA KEN POR BEL RUS POR CZERet ESP ITA SCO – 0 Alister McRae MON BRA KEN POR BEL RUS POR CZE ESP ITA SCO2 12th 13 2010 Proton Satria Neo S2000 Chris Atkinson MON BRA ARG CAN ITA BELRet AZODNS MAD CZE ITA SCO CYP – 0 – 0 Alister McRae MON BRA ARG CAN ITA BELRet AZODNS MAD CZE ITA SCORet CYP – 0 Niall McShea MON BRA ARG CAN ITA BEL AZO MADCZERet ITADNS SCO CYP – 0 Keith Cronin MON BRA ARG CAN ITA BEL AZO MAD CZERet ITA SCORet CYP – 0 Gilles Panizzi MON BRA ARG CAN ITA BEL AZO MAD CZE ITA22 SCO CYP – 0 Tom Cave MON BRA ARG CAN ITA BELRet AZO MAD CZE ITA SCORet CYP – 0 2011 Proton Satria Neo S2000 Chris Atkinson MONRet CAN FRA UKR BEL AZO CZE HUN ITARet SCO CYP – 0 7th 41 Per-Gunnar Andersson MONRet CAN24 FRA UKRRet BEL19 AZO CZE9 HUNRet ITA SCORet CYP 37th 2 Giandomenico Basso MON CAN11 FRA UKRRet BELRet AZO CZE13 HUNRet ITA10 SCO CYP 31st** 5** Oleksandr Saliuk MON CAN FRA UKRRet BEL AZO CZE HUN ITA SCO CYP – 0 Alister McRae MON CAN FRA UKR BEL AZO CZE HUN ITA SCORet CYP – 0 **Including 10 points that Wilks scored with Škoda Fabia S2000 at Rally Scotland. **Including 2 points that Basso scored with Peugeot 207 S2000 at Rallye Monte Carlo.

SWRC results Year Car No. Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 SWRC Points 2012 Proton Satria Neo S2000 33 Per-Gunnar Andersson MONRet SWE1 POR NZL2 FIN1 GBR6 FRA3 ESP2 2nd 91 34 Giandomenico Basso MONRet NC 0 Alister McRae SWE7 NZLRet 13th 6 Juha Salo FIN3 8th 15 Tom Cave GBR2 7th 18 Andreas Aigner FRA4 11th 12 Alastair Fisher ESP4 6th 22 * Season still in progress.

APRC results

Year Entrant Driver Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 APRC Points 2009 Proton R3 Malaysia Alister McRae Proton Satria Neo S2000 NCL AUS NZL JPN MYS IDNRet CHN - 0 2010 Proton R3 Malaysia Alister McRae Proton Satria Neo S2000 MALRet JPNRet NZL2 AUSRet NCL IDN CHN1 3rd 78 Chris Atkinson MAL4 JPNRet NZL AUSRet NCL IDN CHN2 5th 48 2011 Proton Motorsport Alister McRae Proton Satria Neo S2000 MAL3 AUS4 NCL3 NZL5 JPN2 CHN1 1st 153 Chris Atkinson MAL1 AUSRet NCL1 NZL1 JPNRet CHN2 2nd 139 2012 Proton Motorsport Alister McRae Proton Satria Neo S2000 NZL4 NCLRet AUS2 MYS1 JPNRet CHN1 2nd 120 Per-Gunnar Andersson NZL2 NCLRet AUS4 MYSRet JPN CHN 7th 55 Juha Salo NZL NCL AUS MYS JPNRet CHN5 - 0

References

External links