page_title: PROTON Holdings
section_title: British Touring Car Championship
hierarchical_section_title: PROTON Holdings / Motorsport / 2010s / British Touring Car Championship
caption_attribution_description: English: Fariqe Hairuman's BTC-T Proton Impian of Team Petronas Syntium Proton at Knockhill Racing Circuit, Scotland, United Kingdom.
context_page_description: PROTON Holdings Berhad is a Malaysian automotive company and automobile corporation active in automobile design, manufacturing, distribution and sales. Proton was established in 1983 as Malaysia's sole national badged car company until the advent of Perodua in 1993. The company is headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor, and operates additional facilities at Proton City, Perak. 'Proton' is a Bahasa Malaysia acronym for Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional.
  Proton was originally a manufacturer of rebadged Mitsubishi Motors products in the 1980s and 1990s. Proton produced its first indigenously designed, non-badge engineered car in the year 2000, and elevated Malaysia as the 11th country in the world with the capability to design cars from the ground up. Since the 2000s, Proton has produced a mix of locally engineered and badge engineered vehicles. Proton cars are currently sold in at least 15 countries, the majority of which are in Asia.
  Proton was originally owned in majority by HICOM, with minority stakes being held by Mitsubishi Group members. By 2005, Mitsubishi had divested their stake in Proton to Khazanah Nasional, and in 2012, Proton was fully acquired by DRB-HICOM.
context_section_description: The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. Proton participated in the BTCC between 2002 and 2004 as the Petronas Syntium Proton (Team PSP). The team in the 2002 and 2003 BTCC seasons was headed by Scottish and English drivers David Leslie and Phil Bennett respectively in two heavily modified BTC-T Proton Impian touring cars. They were succeeded by South African Shaun Watson-Smith and Malaysian Fariqe Hairuman in the 2004 season. Team PSP won two of 95 races in the BTCC and withdrew after the conclusion of the 2004 season.
  In 2011, UK-based Welch Motorsport contested the BTCC in a Proton Persona NGTC, driven by Daniel Welch. Welch Motorsport competes independently and is not tied to Proton, but indirectly supported by Proton UK The team made its debut in the second half of the 2011 BTCC season and scored a point in the final race at the Silverstone Circuit, placing 22nd overall in the tournament. In comparison, 2011 Drivers' Champion Matt Neal of Honda Racing Team scored 257 points.
  Welch Motorsport's performance improved significantly in the 2012 BTCC season. Daniel Welch had his best race at Oulton Park, where he finished sixth in race one, and held off defending champion Matt Neal to claim fourth position in race two. Welch Motorsport placed 15th overall with 79 points in the 2012 season, with 2012 Drivers' Champion Gordon Shedden scoring 408 points in comparison.
  Welch Motorsport expanded to a two-car team in the 2013 BTCC season. The Proton Persona NGTC returns in the hands of Daniel Welch, whereas the second car is a Super 2000 Mk 2 Ford Focus driven by David Nye.
caption: The BTC-T Proton Impian of Team Petronas Syntium Proton at Knockhill Circuit, Scotland.
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