malaymail

[Malay Mail]
[190906]

Showcase: Three R's of driving
-by T. Yogendra -
Proton's 3R project growing stronger and stronger.


Driving is all about passion. There are many out there who demand a pure, raw, thrilling and exciting drive. Adequate power, superior ride and handling characteristics plus an ideal balance of physics is what driving pleasure is all about, some of them may say.

Proton’s R3 Motorsport Division (Race.Rally.Research) was established with this in mind. And ever since its humble beginnings in 2003 as the motorsport arm for Proton, the division has grown to not only develop custom-made styling and power modifications but it has also been actively experimenting its concepts in racing.

Due to some pretty experienced and passionate people in the division, it managed to produce the Satria R3, a limited production hatchback that was essentially based on the iconic GTi. This car was tailored for those motorsport enthusiasts out there who wanted pure driving dynamics.

And these cars were regularly used in motorsport events and it was quite obvious its formula bore success.

Thus, what the division needed was something that could take the country by storm while at the same time develop a car that was more real.

Having won the overall honours in a Lotus Exige 300RR at the Merdeka Millennium Endurance race last year, Team Proton R3 had a winning formula. Thus this year, it decided to do something different. The team prepared a Proton Waja for the 1600cc category (Class C).

The Exige won effortlessly, grabbing headlines after it crossed the chequered line in 271 laps, winning for the second time successfully. The team recorded history as the only outfit to have done so in the history of the 12-hour endurance race.

If that was to be expected from the professionally-run works team, the Waja became the first Waja and a sedan to even complete the endurance, surpassing the team’s humble expectations of finishing in the top six. It actually finished third in class win in the 1600cc category.

Proton R3 Special Projects Head Adian Yein Khalid, who was also the team manager, said the team’s success was down to its thorough preparation and strong teamwork.

“Our pitstops were quick and our cars, especially the Waja, had strong handling and braking characteristics. We focused on a complete race package with the use of R3 aftermarket parts,” he said.

He said the engine was hand-built and had an extra edge over the other competitors. Engineers had to work extra hard in ensuring the engine lasted the entire race duration, despite having clocked 200 laps prior to the race.

Adian admitted that apart from ensuring the Exige 300RR won, the team’s main focus was getting the Waja home safely.

“It was a matter that was close to our hearts here. We even practised pitstops in our compound everyday to make sure nothing went wrong on that day. We even got our boys to play football to get up to the mark for fitness,” he added.

The team’s 400bhp Exige 300RR, equipped with a 3-litre V6 General Motors Ecotech engine, completed the race in 271 laps. The car was also equipped with a six-speed sequential gearbox.

Weighing in at only about 1,000 kilogrammes, the car obviously had an edge over its rivals as being the lightest car on the grid.

Proton R3 Engineer Mohd Azman Abas said he had logged every single kilometre the car had clocked from the more than 3,000km.

“We tried to control the temperature but the rain had solved that problem for us. The rain also helped for the brakes. The rev was also reduced to 7,500rpm from the usual 8,500 to 9,000rpm for better durability,” he added.

Mohd Azman said as for the Waja, technicians had had to re-build the engine with R3 custom parts that increased power to 150bhp, 40bhp more than the output of the stock standard Waja.

“We could have souped it up further to 210bhp but we needed to ensure the engine lasted the entire race. We did get some impressive times with the Waja as it qualified in two minutes and 45 seconds and averaged 2 minutes 47 seconds during the race.

Proton R3 Media Manager A*** A**** A****** (my mr3003) said the division’ s experience in motorsport has made products desirable and appealing to Malaysians.

“ Malaysians feel the passion in driving an R3-engineered car. We put a lot of effort in ensuring they get that raw experiencing. We try and get the average man on the street to get involved in motorsport, ” he said.

This is why the division has not engineered turbochargers and even four-wheel-drive technology in their cars. “ We want people to enjoy the two-wheel-drive experience as much as possible .”

Adian referred to the Satria R3 weighed 1,000kg and had 180bhp that pulled off just as quick as a Satria that was equipped with a turbocharged engine.

“This goes to show that the car is capable of a better experience.”

online got no pic... mmg got pic ker ni bie?