“The Satria is not known as a performance car, but we have a very big following in Asia and this car would turn that into the sort of cult following that Subaru developed. The WRC is very interesting, we'd be fighting with the big boys - the chance to take on manufacturers like Ford and Citroen, albeit using a much smaller budget, is something we would welcome,” said Dawood.
Of course, the first thing they need for this year's campaign is a driver. And who else to turn to if not former champion and current racing seat seeker Petter Solberg!? The Norwegian driver admitted earlier this week, when talking to Autosport, that he had some talks with the Proton representatives to run the Satria for a few events this year.
“The Proton is a nice car, it's a very detailed car. I met with them and that's it. For the future, it's hard to say,” said Solberg, according to the aforementioned source.
Should Solberg and the Malaysian manufacturer agree on the racing programme for 2009 & 2010, the Norwegian is also expected to conduct some further testing – in parallel with the 2009 racing schedule – on Proton's S2000 car for the next season.
In the meantime, Solberg is still trying to secure an entry for his home event in Norway next month. He is linked with a private Citroen drive for Rally Norway (either a C4 or a Xsara). While already on the organizers list, he is yet to announce his car.
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