21 March 2012

I-Race Grand Prize Winners Among the Highlights at the Proton POWER OF 1 Grand Finale

SUBANG JAYA, 20 March 2012 – Two lucky winners of the Lotus F1-Team I-Race grand prizes at the POWER OF 1 will soon be on their way to a once-in-a-lifetime fully paid five-star trip to Europe, to experience a day as an F1 driver and drive a real F1 car on a real F1 track in Europe, courtesy of PROTON. 

Cheong Wai Soon from Rawang and Siti Adzilah Salleh from Balakong, each won the highly coveted prizes on the last day of the mega event held at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil by the national car company, and will now have an opportunity to undergo training sessions with Lotus F1 Team race engineers, drive and be driven in the Lotus GT4, before finally getting behind the wheel of Formula 1 car for themselves. 

Cheong won the unique prize as a result of putting down a booking for PROTON’s upcoming sedan, the P3-21A, while Siti Adzilah earned her prize after qualifying for the “Buy and Win” contest through purchases of Proton lifestyle merchandise. 

“We at PROTON are very happy to have been able to organize this event as we were able to reach out to the Malaysian public in a very personal way,” said PROTON Group Managing Director Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir. 

“Despite this being the first time we are organizing an event of such a large scale, we feel that we have successfully showcased PROTON as a brand and company, and I’d like to record my sincerest appreciation to those who attended and supported us at the POWER OF 1. The response we received from our track events, in particular, had been extremely encouraging as we were able to demonstrate the ride and handling abilities of our cars on the track. This puts us on a very strong footing as we prepare to launch the new generation of cars, beginning with the P3-21A,” he added. 

Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal added that feedback - received not just from PROTON staff interaction with the public, but also from surveys conducted during the event now provides PROTON with valuable information to help better improve – in terms of the company’s brand image, product and more. “Many visitors to the event found that the activities were not just entertaining but also very educative, revealing the skills and technology behind every Proton car that is produced. We believe that visitors now understand us better, and appreciate the technology we have in our cars, especially in our new sedan.” 

“As we continue to develop and improve the different facets of our company, from point of design and development, to manufacturer, sales and after sales service, we are ready to compete more aggressively on an international scale,” Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal said. 

The POWER OF 1, PROTON’s largest outdoor showcase ever organised to date, was spread over an area of 35,000sqm at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium’s Car Park A, B and C. It was transformed to accommodate a technology exhibition, sales and promotion area, as well as a mini circuit, allowing visitors to experience the many different facets of PROTON, and its progress and development over the last 27 years. 

The five-day event attracted 54,565 visitors, with the major highlights being the drive demonstrations by Lotus F1 driver Tung Ho Pin in the 2012 Lotus Formula 1 car, and Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) winning driver Alister McRae in his Proton Satria Neo S2000. Read more after the jump.


With pre-launch bookings of the P3-21A being announced Wednesday, 500 bookings of the new model have been made thus far nationwide, and over 669 units of Proton cars, including the Exora, Satria Neo and Saga sold at the event. The POWER OF 1 also saw an impressive sale of PROTON’s merchandise throughout its five day run reflecting the effectiveness of the event as a strategic marketing avenue for PROTON. 

Additionally, the Group’s Human Resource division recorded almost 10,000 visitors at its booth, which had display areas that included the Change Management Office, Capability (Career Planning & Talent Development), Employee Services, Learning & Development, Recruitment and Yayasan PROTON. More than 2,000 resumes were also collected by the Recruitment team. 

The final evening of the POWER OF 1 saw the historic congregation of past and present Malaysia motorsports champions on track for the Challenge of Champions, where drivers competed on a gymkhana circuit in a Lotus Elise and a Proton Satria Neo R3. Asia Pacific Rally Champion (APRC) driver Alister McRae and Kart-racer, James Verappan respectively took the Runner-up and Champion honours of the celebrity race. 

“These five days had truly been a proud moment for us as we had been able to showcase to the public all the different parts of PROTON, in one place, at one time, as one company - and successfully demonstrate to full effect, our brand promise of ‘Committed to be Better’,” said PROTON Director of Group Marketing, Branding & Motorsports, John D. Chacko. 

“Our involvement in motorsports has provided us with the opportunity to push the limits of our research and development and it will continue to assist us in our pursuit of excellence, to provide the best quality and products for our consumers.” 
Adding to the two I-Race sessions, three units of the Proton Savvy were given away in the “SMS and Win” contest which saw over 11,359 SMS submissions. Sarah Helmi and Alexius Sagun, two lucky winners from Sabah and Mohamad Nazib Ithnin, an engineer from Johor drove home brand new Proton Savvys, while over 7,000 other gifts and prizes were handed over to lucky winners throughout the event duration.

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