Before Subaru entered the WRC way back in the Nineties, it was little more than a small Asian automaker. Its rallying efforts helped to put it on the map but Subaru has decided to ditch the WRC this season. So another little-known Asian automaker may be ready to pick up what Subaru no longer wants. That company is Malaysian automaker Proton.

The state-owned company has a strong customer base in Asia. Proton also owns Lotus, which provides Proton with a performance engineering knowledge base to tap into. Subaru’s former partner Prodrive is looking for a new client. Rumours are also surrounding former champion Petter Solberg (who used to drive for Subaru), may be signing on to Proton’s rally team.

Together with motorsport garage MEM, Proton has been busy preparing an S2000-spec rally car based on its Satria Neo hatchback for the lower-level Intercontinental Rally Championship, Proton could potentially mount an assault on the WRC by 2010, as the brand is eager to expand outside its regional market and establish itself in Europe.