Editing Proton Holdings (section)

=== 1980s and 1990s ===

Proton has a significant historical presence in [[motorsports]]. In the late 1980s, an alliance consisting of Proton, Malaysian oil and gas company [[Petronas]], [[Mitsubishi Motors]] of Japan and distributor of Proton cars, Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON) led to the formation of the Petronas EON Racing Team (PERT).<ref name="Proton Motorsports history"/> The team focused primarily on [[rallying]] and has been in motorsports as early as 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OntPAAAAIBAJ&pg=2120,111791&dq=proton+saga+rally&hl=en |title=A touch of Saga glamour |publisher=[[New Straits Times]] |date=1 August 1987 |access-date=3 April 2013 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330235233/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OntPAAAAIBAJ&pg=2120%2C111791&dq=proton+saga+rally&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> PERT won the 1989 [[Royal Dutch Shell|Shell]] Malaysia Rally with [[Proton Saga (First generation)|Proton Saga]] [[rally car]]s which were prepared by Mitsubishi's [[Ralliart]] division, featuring powerful 150&nbsp;bhp engines as part of its rally specifications.<ref>{{cite web |author=Martinez, Gerald |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I2NPAAAAIBAJ&pg=4399,3693995&dq=proton+saga+rally&hl=en |title=EON throw in the Proton challenge |publisher=[[New Straits Times]] |date=15 September 1989 |access-date=3 April 2013 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330235150/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=I2NPAAAAIBAJ&pg=4399%2C3693995&dq=proton+saga+rally&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> PERT won several other international rallies including the 1991 Rally of Thailand, 1993 [[Dubai]] International Rally and the Rallye Ng Philipinas in 1995, 1996 and 1997 respectively.<ref name="Proton Motorsports history"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thailandrally.com/pdf/rallyofthailand/13112012/Rally%20Guide%202%20KING%20CUP%20APPENDIX.pdf |title=Rally of Thailand – Previous Winners |publisher=thailandrally.com |access-date=3 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715122851/https://www.thailandrally.com/pdf/rallyofthailand/13112012/Rally%20Guide%202%20KING%20CUP%20APPENDIX.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>