Proton S2000 Catches fire @ Montecarlo 2012

A fire in the engine bay three special stages to the finish of the grueling five-day long Monte Carlo Rally ended a spectacular run for PROTON in the 2012 FIA Super World Rally Championship (S-WRC) and the hopes of clinching its maiden victory on its debut season in the World Rally Championship.

The fire was later traced to a fuel leak in the engine bay of the Satria Neo S2000, which forced PG Andersson into retirement in special stage 16, a 23.41km run through Moulinet-La Bollène Vésubie.

Day four of the Monte Carlo Rally consisted of four special stages which included a repeat of the morning session’s 23.41km Moulinet-La Bollène Vésubie special stage and the 18.81km Lantosque-Luceram test.

The PROTON driver had earlier completed a trouble-free drive through Moulinet-La Bollène Vésubie to tighten the grip on his lead in the S-WRC category, gaining another 8 seconds to extend his advantage to 1 minute 48 seconds over Skoda’s Kevin Abbring. Ford’s Craig Breen was a distant threat some 22 minutes behind while Frenchman Bryan Bouffier in the Peugeot 207 S2000 a further 4 minutes adrift in fourth place.