Team Proton R3 (R3) drivers Fariqe Hairuman and Syafiq Ali have clinched the M-Production Class Championship for the 2019 Malaysia Championship Series (MCS). Driving a Proton Iriz, the pair finished second in Round 5, a gruelling 300-km race offering double points to those who finished in the Top 10.
For Fariqe, the 2019 title is his second MCS championship as he also won it in 2015 while driving for R3. His co-driver Syafiq, a 3-time Sepang 1000km (S1K) winner, collected his first MCS title to add to the impressive list of racing accolades he has already won.
Aiming for S1K win
After winning the MCS championship, R3 is aiming for a S1K win in November. By winning the MCS championship, R3 have achieved one of their main goals for 2019 and can now focus on defending their S1K title to deliver Proton a record-breaking fifth title in the race. They have a good chance of doing so as the team will be fielding cars with proven track records.
Aside from the Iriz, R3 will race two units of the 2019 Proton Saga, the newest car in their stable. During Round 5 of the MCS, the veteran driven pairing of Admi Shahrul and Faidzil Alang defended their title chasing teammates from attacks by other cars but still managed to drive their Saga to a third-place finish. It was the second podium for the Saga in the last three MCS races, which bodes well for the S1K.
The second Proton Saga will be piloted by drivers selected from the MSF-R3 Lady Racers Search. The initiative offers an opportunity to lady racers to undergo a development programme with R3, culminating in a race seat in the 2019 S1K race.
Competent road cars add competitiveness on track
“R3 set out to win the MCS in 2019 and we won 6 consecutive races to go into Round 5 as championship leaders. Having racked up 5 wins, the Iriz was carrying 60 kgs of success ballast so our competitors had an advantage during the race. Still, we tried our best to overcome the weight penalty and win the race but, in the end, we finished with two podium places in second and third. The results worked out well for us though and thanks to the skill of our drivers and the handling and reliability of our cars we easily clinched the MCS championship,” said Gary Lee, Team Principal of Proton R3.
“The team is using the newest versions of the Iriz and Saga and both have proven to be very competitive, thanks to the excellent handling capabilities of road-going versions of all Proton cars. This provides R3 with a good base from which to build a racing machine and as the season has progressed our development programme has managed to deliver two cars with race-winning potential,” he added.
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