Chris Atkinson has won his second Asia Pacific Rally Championship event of the year with victory at Rally New Caledonia.
After winning the home event for Proton in Malaysia, Atkinson was plagued with mechanical issues on his home event on the Sunshine Coast.
Despite some minor engine issues on the opening day and a broken drive shaft on the second day – Atkinson was more than a match for his rivals on the Pacific Island nation.
“It was a great result for Proton,” said Atkinson.
“The other guys were very quick this weekend. The car was good, but we had a bit of luck as well.”
Second went to Rifat Sungkar in the Pertamina Cusco Mitsubishi and third was Perth-based Scotsman Alister McRae in the second Proton.
Results : Rally New Caledonia
Pos | Driver | Car | Model | Time |
1 | Chris Atkinson | Proton | Satria Neo S2000 | 01:06:12 |
2 | Rifat Sungkar | Mitsubishi | Evo X | +0:30 |
3 | Alister McRae | Proton | Satria Neo S2000 | +2:56 |
4 | Alain Dalstein | Mitsubishi | Evo IX | +4:04 |
5 | Brian Green | Mitsubishi | Evo IX | +4:46 |
6 | Emmanuel Guigou | Renault | Clio R3 | +6:24 |
7 | Hao Yuan | Mitsubishi | Evo X | +7:47 |
8 | Fan Fan | Mitsubishi | Evo X | +8:16 |
9 | Karamjit Singh | Proton | Satria Neo | +11:59 |
10 | Gunaseelan Rajoo | Proton | Satria Neo | +29:01 |