The Proton R3 team, which bagged the Overall
Champion title at last year’s Sepang 1000KM (S1K) endurance race, has announced
its vehicle line up for the 2018 edition of the event. The team will be running
a two-car line-up this year – racing alongside the Proton Iriz will be a Saga,
competing in the event for the first time.
The selection of the Saga is very much a homage to
the original, which besides being the first model used by Proton in motorsports
remains very much the car of choice for budding racers to get their first taste
of competition through race series’ like the MSF Saga Cup.
The Saga S1K race car is based on the current
version of the entry-level sedan that was launched in 2016, and will be piloted
by Admi Shahrul and James Veerapan, the winning driver pairing from 2017.
Meanwhile, Fariqe Hairuman and Syafiq Ali will race in the Proton Iriz, which
was on track for victory last year until a minor mechanical issue robbed them
of glory.
For this year’s campaign, the R3 race team will be
made up of 21 crew members as well as 15 students from DRB-Hicom University of
Automotive Malaysia in Pekan, Pahang.
