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APRC 2012 New Caledonia - Team MRF scored 1-2, Proton stumbled

Posted: 30 Apr 2012 06:15 PM PDT


Proton had a promising start in the New Caledonia rally when PG Andersson lead Chris Atkinson by 4.3s while team mate Alister McRae suffered from a puncture and retired for that day. With McRae out of the picture, Proton misery continued during the second day when PG Andersson suffered from engine mishap where his Proton Satria Neo S2000 gradually losing power. However, superb job by MEM crew witnesssed them fitting a new cylinder head gasket to the ailing car in a record time, enabling Andersson to salvage third place at the end of Day 2. While Proton stumbled, MRF Team of Chris Atkinson flourished to finish first, ahead of team mate Gaurav Gill. Atkinson lead however was not without problem, as he also suffered a puncture in the final stage, cutting down his lead to 40seconds.

On the Day 3, Andersson engine had died completely, thanks to the Saturday drama. Skoda's Atkinson pace was blistering on Day 3, eclipsing his team mate by almost two minutes. However, his Skoda stopped in the middle of the stage apparently due to the water crossing, same issued that plagued Andersson's Proton. Gaurav Gill in the sister Skoda immediately capitalized on his team mate misfortune. When Atkinson finally get going again, his team mate was 5 minutes in front. They hold station that way, finished ahead of Brian Green EVO IX by 10 minutes. More after the jump.
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