Motor racing / Rally Hokkaido: Proton proving to be dominant force
In the main event, Alister McRae turned around his misfortunes on Saturday to finish third in the Satria Neo S2000.
Beginning the second leg 31.4 seconds adrift of second-placed Katsuhiko Taguchi in the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, McRae won two of the morning's four special stages to close the gap to within 18.5s.
McRae kept the pressure on the two front running Mitsubishis but in the end had to be content with third place despite closing the gap to within 8.8s and being the fastest driver on Leg Two of the rally.
The results in Japan will set the stage for a three-way battle for this year's APRC crown with McRae leading Proton teammate Chris Atkinson followed by Indian driver Gaurav Gill in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X.
The final round of the APRC will be held in Longyou, China in November.
"We had a good run in Japan considering the terrain and stages suited the turbo-charged four-wheel drive cars better," said Proton motorsports head Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood.
"The results might have been different had it not been for McRae's puncture and Atkinson's retirement on the first day but that's the nature of rallying.
"Having said that the Satria Neo S2000 performed well against the more powerful turbo-charged cars and the results are testimony to the level of progress we have made in terms of development of the car."
An equally celebrated result for Proton in Rally Hokkaido was the dominant drive demonstrated by its two Group N 1600 Satria Neos.
Proton clinched two more podium finishes with Malaysian Karamjit Singh and Japanese teammate Akira Bamba finishing first and second respectively in the APRC 1600cc Two Wheel Drive category.
Bamba also secured the inaugural FIA APRC Junior Championship title with the Cusco prepared Proton Satria Neo Group N rally car.
Another Malaysian driver Gunaseelan Rajoo meanwhile, clinched the Class 'A' title in the APRC 1600cc Two Wheel Drive category.
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