As this year’s edition of the annual Sepang 10000 KM (S1K) endurance race event looms closer, national automaker Proton is set to mark its return to the event and chart even more success – the marque has been absent from which since it last won it back in 2019.
Earlier today, Proton held a special press presentation to show off its newest racing metal based on the new Proton S70 sedan, and the automaker also revealed its drivers line-up. There’s indeed much to say about Proton’s renewed racing effort, as well as both the machine and the people behind it.
Firstly, the drivers. As reported prior, Proton is set to compete in this year’s S1K with a two-car entry, and the automaker has decided to switch things up a little with its drivers line-up. Spearheading things here are veterans Syafiq Ali and Fahrizal Hasan.
36-year-old Syafiq Ali was absent during today’s press conference as he is away performing his Umrah. His 42-year-old teammate and co-driver Fahrizal, on the other hand, appeared content and confident, and that’s despite having taken a 1-year hiatus from racing.
Combined, both veterans boast vast experiences racing in both national and regional championships, and both have also won the S1K event multiple times prior. Clearly, Fahrizal’s confidence is backed up by solid foundations, but the story takes a different twist in the second entry.
That’s because Proton also decided to harness young talents in the form of 21-year-old Alister Yoong and 19-year-old Ariff Azmi. Both hail from the renowned Axle Sports Academy run by Alex Yoong – Alister’s father – that’s been trailblazing its own path for local motorsports talent development.
Aptly, Proton believes the key to claiming its sixth S1K crown lies in this mix of experienced veterans and hungry but talented youths piloting its two S70 racecars, which also stood as a minor triumph in motorsports engineering for its renowned Race Rally Research (R3) arm.
The task of building the machine fell upon R3’s Chief Mechanic Haji Osman Jailani. Together with his engineering team, they were able to complete their builds and shakedowns of both cars which they have aptly christened as the Proton S70 R3 S1K.
Apart from stripping, caging and retrofitting the S70’s interior to meet racing and safety regulations, Haji Osman’s team also primed the S70 R3 S1K’s exterior with the necessary bits and bob for racing – massive front air splitter and carbon fibre rear spoiler included.
However, the most dauting task here was of course adapting R3’s race-winning 1.6-litre CamPro naturally-aspirated 4-cyl screamer, as well as the 5-speed, straight-cut H-pattern manual transmission and race-prepped driveline it comes paired with, into the S70.
Much of said powertrain – and other racing hardware – were derived from R3’s last S1K-winning machine based on the Proton Saga. Despite the short timeline, as well as the fact that the S70’s Geely-badged Emgrand original had no racecars builds prior, the end-result is spectacular.
And before you ask, the switch from the production S70’s 1.5-litre 3-cyl turbo and 7-speed DCT to this CamPro screamer was necessitated by several facts. Firstly, under S1K’s MTC regulations, such a swap is allowed and, secondly, it’s a proven race-winning unit that didn’t need further development.
With five S1K wins already charted under its belt, there’s certainly no arguing that Proton R3 know what’s needed when it comes to building a competitive race machine that also holds a strong chance at claiming the overall win – which is exactly what the S70 R3 S1K and its drivers are vying for.
Set to run at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit (Petronas SIC) later this month from Nov 21 to Nov 23, S1K 2024 will see entrants cover no less than 181 laps of the renowned 5.5 KM-long circuit over a nine hour-long span.
During which, it will be interesting to see how the new Proton S70 R3 S1K will fare against this year’s field of entrants, more so given the heightened level of competition the national automaker is set to face since its last appearance.
