British Rally Championship leader Tom Cave makes winning debut in Satria Neo S2000.... [+ click to enlarge] Tom Cave and Craig Perry at the podium in Thailand. The rally was Cave's first for Proton and also in the region. Zooming past the locals.

After a lengthy hiatus, Proton has made a triumphant return to the Rally of Thailand, with current British Rally Championship leader Tom Cave making a winning debut in the Satria Neo S2000. Setting the fastest time in 11 of the rally's 13 special stages, Cave went on to win the rally by a margin of more than 10 minutes.

Cave's win came at the expense of Brian Green and Fleur Pedersen from Brian Green Motorsports and Wittaya Ruegchan and Pramote Somjarassuwan from the Thai Beer/Maxima Rally Team. His co-driver for the race was Craig Perry, who had previously driven the Neo S2000 himself in selected rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in 2011.

“It could not have ended better considering the many firsts - it was my first drive for Proton Motorsports, my first visit to Rally Thailand and the Satria Neo S2000's first time competing in the kingdom,” said an excited Cave, who was racing for the first time in the Far East.

A candidate round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship, Rally Thailand (Queen’s Cup) was contested over 13 grueling special stages both on gravel and tarmac, 250km north of Bangkok in the region of Lop Buri. Totaling 220km, the three-day rally began on Friday with a short super special stage before moving on to seven and five special stages on Saturday and Sunday respectively.