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The BTC-T Proton Impian is a BTC-Touring class
racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
that was built for the
2002 British Touring Car Championship season The 2002 Green Flag MSA British Touring Car Championship season was the 45th British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) season which began at Brands Hatch on 1 April and concluded at Donington Park on 22 September. Changes for 2002 Teams and driv ...
by
Team PSP A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
, who ran
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...
's official works program.


BTCC

In 2001, the
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n carmaker,
Proton A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...
, announced that they would be entering into the
British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA TOCA, formally trading as BARC (TOCA) Ltd, is an organiser of motorsport events in ...
for the first time the following year with its Proton Impian, with the effort being run by Team Petronas Syntium Proton. Based in
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, the team were forced to purchase the cars from local dealerships, due to the difficulties of importing bodyshells from
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. This hindered the development of the car, as it was not purpose-built from the ground up as a race car.
Mountune Racing Mountune Racing is a specialist automotive engineering company. It was formed in 1980 in Maldon, Essex by David Mountain to provide Mini race engines. In the late 1980s, Mountune started preparing Cosworth YB engines for numerous motorsport cham ...
provided the engines, which were praised by the car's drivers during testing. David Leslie was able to achieve several podium finishes in 2002, finishing 7th overall, whilst teammate
Phil Bennett Philip Bennett (24 October 1948 – 12 June 2022) was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken over from Barry John as Llanell ...
struggled to maintain the form he showed in 2001 at the egg:sport Vauxhall team, and could only achieve a lowly 16th, with only the independently entered Peugeot of
Carl Breeze Carl Breeze (born 7 July 1979 in Kings Lynn) is a British auto racing driver. He is not to be confused with Hyla Breese, an Australian driver also with British Touring Car Championship experience. His racing heroes include Ayrton Senna, Nelson ...
finishing behind him. Both drivers were retained for 2003, but the fully revamped car proved uncompetitive, and it finished no higher than a 5th place in the hands of Leslie, gained in the first race of the season at
Mondello Park Mondello Park is Ireland's only international motorsport venue and is located in Caragh, County Kildare off the R409 regional road, approximately from Dublin city centre. History The Mondello Park short circuit was designed on farmland ne ...
, gained mostly due to the attrition of the Touring-class cars. Leslie slipped to 11th in the championship, whilst Bennett once more finished in 16th, as Proton remained 4th in the Manufacturer's standings. A new-look driver lineup was announced for 2004:
South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...
driver
Shaun Watson-Smith Shaun Watson-Smith (born in Port Elizabeth) is a South African racing driver who has mainly raced in Touring Cars. He first entered the national production car championship in 1991, winning the overall championship a year later in 1992. In 1994 ...
and Malaysian
Fariqe Hairuman Fariqe Hairuman (born 10 March 1983) is a Malaysian race car driver. BTCC Fariqe is possibly best known as a driver for Team PETRONAS Syntium Proton (Team PSP) in the British Touring Car Championship in 2004. ATCC He is also known for having ...
replaced Leslie and Bennett. 2004 would prove even less successful - Watson-Smith achieved a fine 14th in his debut season, but Hairuman could do no better than 23rd in the championship, with Proton once again finishing 4th, and last, in the Manufacturer's championship - on 325 points behind the 3rd-placed Seat Sport UK, who were competing in their first season with the
Super 2000 Super 2000 is an FIA powertrain specification used in the World Rally Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, the World Touring Car Championship, and other touring car championships. The engines were originally 2 L naturally aspirate ...
-spec
Seat Toledo The SEAT Toledo is a small family car produced by the Spanish manufacturer SEAT, part of Volkswagen Group. The Toledo name was first introduced to the SEAT line up in May 1991 being named after a Spanish city with the same name, with the fourt ...
.


Later career

At the end of the 3-year deal, Proton withdrew from the
BTCC The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
, instead opting to run Hairuman, Mashlino Buang and Michael Briggs in the
Asian Touring Car Championship The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) is a touring car racing series that takes place each year across several Asian nations. It includes events at circuits in Malaysia, China and Indonesia. It ran as the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) betwee ...
, with the cars rebadged as the
Proton Waja The Proton Waja is a saloon car manufactured by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, first released in May 2000. The name ''Waja'', which means ''(strong as) steel'' in Malay has both physical and abstract connotations. In the United Kingdom, ...
. In a sparse field mixed with
Super 2000 Super 2000 is an FIA powertrain specification used in the World Rally Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, the World Touring Car Championship, and other touring car championships. The engines were originally 2 L naturally aspirate ...
and
Super Production In relation to international motorsport governed by the FIA, Group N refers to regulations providing 'standard' large scale series production vehicles for competition. They are limited in terms of modifications permitted to the standard specifica ...
machinery, the Waja proved competitive, with Hairuman managing to finish second in both 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Team PSP retired the cars, and instead opted to use the
Super 2000 Super 2000 is an FIA powertrain specification used in the World Rally Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, the World Touring Car Championship, and other touring car championships. The engines were originally 2 L naturally aspirate ...
-spec
BMW 320si The fifth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model codes E90 (saloon), E91 (estate, marketed as 'Touring'), E92 (coupé) and E93 (convertible). The model was introduced in December 2004, and pr ...
.


Chassis History

Car 1 *2002 - David Leslie *2003 -
Phil Bennett Philip Bennett (24 October 1948 – 12 June 2022) was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken over from Barry John as Llanell ...
*2004 -
Fariqe Hairuman Fariqe Hairuman (born 10 March 1983) is a Malaysian race car driver. BTCC Fariqe is possibly best known as a driver for Team PETRONAS Syntium Proton (Team PSP) in the British Touring Car Championship in 2004. ATCC He is also known for having ...
*2005 - Mashlino Buang (
Asian Touring Car Championship The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) is a touring car racing series that takes place each year across several Asian nations. It includes events at circuits in Malaysia, China and Indonesia. It ran as the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) betwee ...
) *2006 - Mashlino Buang (
Asian Touring Car Championship The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) is a touring car racing series that takes place each year across several Asian nations. It includes events at circuits in Malaysia, China and Indonesia. It ran as the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) betwee ...
) Car 2 *2002 -
Phil Bennett Philip Bennett (24 October 1948 – 12 June 2022) was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken over from Barry John as Llanell ...
*2003/04/05 - Unused *2006 - Michael Briggs (
Asian Touring Car Championship The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) is a touring car racing series that takes place each year across several Asian nations. It includes events at circuits in Malaysia, China and Indonesia. It ran as the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) betwee ...
) Car 3 *2003 - David Leslie *2004 -
Shaun Watson-Smith Shaun Watson-Smith (born in Port Elizabeth) is a South African racing driver who has mainly raced in Touring Cars. He first entered the national production car championship in 1991, winning the overall championship a year later in 1992. In 1994 ...
*2005 -
Fariqe Hairuman Fariqe Hairuman (born 10 March 1983) is a Malaysian race car driver. BTCC Fariqe is possibly best known as a driver for Team PETRONAS Syntium Proton (Team PSP) in the British Touring Car Championship in 2004. ATCC He is also known for having ...
(
Asian Touring Car Championship The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) is a touring car racing series that takes place each year across several Asian nations. It includes events at circuits in Malaysia, China and Indonesia. It ran as the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) betwee ...
) *2006 -
Fariqe Hairuman Fariqe Hairuman (born 10 March 1983) is a Malaysian race car driver. BTCC Fariqe is possibly best known as a driver for Team PETRONAS Syntium Proton (Team PSP) in the British Touring Car Championship in 2004. ATCC He is also known for having ...
(
Asian Touring Car Championship The Asian Touring Car Series (ATCS) is a touring car racing series that takes place each year across several Asian nations. It includes events at circuits in Malaysia, China and Indonesia. It ran as the Asian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) betwee ...
)


References

{{BTC-T Cars British Touring Car Championship Touring cars Cars introduced in 2002 Front-wheel-drive vehicles