At the official unveiling of the Proton S70 R3 race car that will be entered into the 2024 Sepang 1000KM endurance race, the national carmaker has also announced its driver line-up for the event that will be taking place at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit next month.
Two cars will be entered into this year’s running of S1K following the national carmaker’s five-year break from the annual endurance race, off the back of its third consecutive win in 2019 and its sixth overall since its victory with the Satria Neo in 2012.
A mix of experience and youth has been enlisted for Proton R3’s driver at the Sepang 1000KM, with three-time S1K winner Syafiq Ali paired with multiple winner at the Sepang 12 Hours, Fahrizal Hasan to drive the #81 Proton S70 R3.
The accompanying #82 car will be driven by younger but no less formidable talent. This pairing is comprised of 18-year-old Ariff Azmi who has tasted success in karting as well as touring cars, with the 2019 Rotax Malaysia and Rotax Asia titles to his name, as well as being the Toyota Gazoo Racing Malaysia rookie-class champion and the MSF Merdeka Enduro 88 champion in 2023.
Paired with Ariff Azmi in the #82 car is 21-year-old Alister Yoong, son of Malaysia’s only Formula 1 driver so far, Alex Yoong, and a successful racer in his own right. Yoong packs several race wins from the FIA Formula 4 series, along with a top-10 finish for Team Malaysia in the 2022 Motorsports Games, in addition to his success in prototype-class and open-wheel single-seater racing overseas.
Yoong won the 2022 Indian Racing League where he currently leads the 2024 championship with four race wins, with another four wins in the Italian Sports Prototype Championship (CISP) and two wins in the French Sports Prototype Championship. This is in addition to his role as head coach at Axle Academy founded by his father Alex.
The race car for the Sepang 1000KM will wear a livery similar to that shown on the Malaysian Touring Car display unit rolled out in May this year.
As detailed previously, the S70 R3 that will be fielded in the Sepang 1000KM is powered by 1.6 litre naturally aspirated, inline-four cylinder S4PH engine in place of the road car‘s turbocharged, 1.5 litre inline-three cylinder, as part of the MTC class regulations which require the use of a naturally aspirated engine. Beyond the MTC-class S1K entry, Proton is looking into an MCS SP2-class entry next year as well.
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