KUALA LUMPUR: Proton R3 is looking to replace their venerable Campro racing engine, which has powered its race cars for roughly a decade now, with a new four-cylinder power plant.
The 1.6 litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated Campro engine likely made its swansong appearance in the Sepang 1000 kilometres (S1K) endurance race yesterday (Nov 23), powering Proton R3's S70 (Alister Yoong-Raja Ariff Raja Azmi) to a fifth-in-class (MTC) finish.
Their other S70 (Syafiq Ali-Fahrizal Hasan) was forced to retire as it could not be adequately fixed after being involved in a collision.
Proton R3 were making their S1K comeback after a five-year hiatus.
Proton R3 team principal Rashdan Yaacob said the team has plans to develop a new four-cylinder engine for future races but will have to obtain the green light from senior management first.
"Of course we (motorsports division) would love to come back and race S1K again next year," said Rashdan when met at Sepang Circuit yesterday.
"We are looking into new improvements in the engine department because everyone knows that this (S70) is using our old Campro engine.
"We could look into the development of a new four-cylinder engine which could serve as the new platform but we will have to wait and see. We need to go back to the management and see what their thoughts are.
"Because we cannot use the Campro engine anymore, it has lasted long enough already. I think it is best to move forward with new products and a new engine. That is the plan.
"I think it (new four-cylinder) will be from one of our new models which has not been released yet."
Proton R3 have used the Campro in various models before including the Iriz, Saga and the Satria Neo and it has helped them dominate S1K in the past. They previously won the race in 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Proton R3 were one of three works teams - together with Honda Malaysia Racing Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing - on the S1K grid.
HI-REV Dream Chaser, after coming close in recent seasons, finally landed their maiden S1K title, after their Suzuki Swift (Hayden Haikal, Rahul Mayer, Daim Hishammudin) overcame brake and electronics issues to claim a famous victory under the Sepang floodlights.