McRae scores historic podium for Proton

McRae 44 McRae scores historic podium for Proton

The Proton MEM Satria Neo S2000 scored its first ever podium finish on the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, when Scottish rally hero Alister McRae crossed the finish line of the Rally of Scotland in third place in Stirling this afternoon.

McRae, one of the sport's biggest names, is returning to rallying with the Malaysian manufacturer and admitted the result was an emotional moment for all concerned.

"I've been out of the sport for a while," said McRae, "so to achieve a podium on the IRC on only my third event in the Proton, and my first IRC round in the car, is fantastic. Everybody: the Proton factory in Malysia and the MEM team in Britain, we all deserve this result. There has been a tremendous amount of work going on behind the scenes to get the car to this point. But we don't stop here. This is just the beginning of the next chapter for Proton. I know the potential this car has and I'm looking forward to seeing that potential unlocked."

Following the traditional podium celebrations at Stirling Castle, the champagne-soaked McRae talked of a comfortable day's sport aboard the Satria Neo S2000.

"I've really enjoyed today," he said. "There was more grip around in these stages and the car worked really well. We had a small problem with the car this morning, which stopped the flat-shift from working; we had to lift off the throttle every time we changed up a gear. This cost us a minimal amount of time, but the team soon got it fixed at the service at lunchtime."

McRae3 McRae scores historic podium for Proton

The final stage of Britain's inaugural IRC round was cancelled when a competitor running ahead of McRae crashed and blocked the road. This meant an early end to the competition and an early start to the celebrations.

Proton MEM team principal Chris Mellors was delighted with the result. Third-placed McRae ended the event more than two minutes ahead of his nearest rival. He said: "I've just had a text message of congratulations from Proton in Malaysia, a result like this makes it all worthwhile. We've not had the best of years, we've had a heck of a lot of bad luck and finally, on this event, we've got the result everybody deserves. On paper, we came here knowing a podium was possible, but you can never take anything for granted in this sport.

"Alister has driven a fantastic rally. He's enjoying a renaissance in his career and we're delighted this is coinciding with the Proton Satria Neo S2000 really coming on song. Having a McRae in the Proton in Scotland has been a fantastic experience; the support has been brilliant. The conditions today were pretty horrendous in places, with so much rain about, but Alister has done the job we asked of him and brought the car home."

Mellors echoed McRae's sentiments in driving the Proton programme forward into next season.

"We're close to finalising the programme for next year," said Mellors. "And I make no secret of the fact that we want Alister involved. He's an exceptional development driver and a fierce competitor, which is just what we need. What we've seen on this event is just the beginning of what this car is capable of."

After two days of flat-out driving through the forests of central Scotland, the Rally of Scotland brought this year's IRC series to a close this afternoon.

McRae 41 McRae scores historic podium for Proton