Leslie and Bennett without a drive

[Racefan_uk]

Just found out that David Leslie and Phil Bennett will not be part of the Proton team next year.

Apparantly they will have a new malaysian driver as one of the drivers with another one yet to be chosen.

Anyone have any idea where they might go? Will Leslie finally call it a day in touring cars now?

[Peter]

That is a surprise and a very disappointing one too. I could not think of a driver better at developing a car than David Leslie. I'd be interested to know how a Malaysian driver will boost Proton's sales in the UK!

Hope Phil and David find other drives with a manufacturer that didn't finish last in the 2003 series.

[Croft fan]

Shame about that, but thats life, and I hope that they find another drive for next year. I think David will as he has a lot of experience to offer.
I think it is bad news for Phill, always a good show man, thanks phill for the front burn out yesterday. For those that did not see it, Phill did a front burn out just after the Knickerbrook chicane, to celebrate his (was it 2 top ten finishes?) at Oulton Park.
Always good entertainment. It was in Protons plans to have malaysian drivers in the team, they have said it from the fore.
Good luck to David and Phill next year where ever they are.

[VkmSpouge]

It's a pity that Bennet and Leslie should both lose their drives they've put in so much effort for little reward. I hope that both of them can find drives for next season.
Any idea who the Malayasian drivers are going to be for Proton?

[Peter]

Originally posted by VkmSpouge
. Any idea who the Malayasian drivers are going to be for Proton?

Fariqe Hairuman will be part of the line up- I have just read.

Honestly how can Proton expect to be taken seriously next year when they take on a complete rookie?

[lauz]

it is a shame to see that phil and david won't be driving for proton next year, however it will be interesting to see how the new driver performs.

[touring fan]

Sounds like a bit of a silly idea to me. Get rid of the people who have developed the car and start all over again just when they should be catching up with the others. I hope both drivers find seats elsewhere.

[Ed- the MG fan]

having said all this this new guy might be a suprise. Surly the team know how good leslie is and would't just replace him tto please the sponsers and maufactre.

just think he can't be as bad as Simmoni in 1994- or can he.

[Amanda]

It is a surprise that Proton are letting both of their drivers go after they have worked so hard developing the car. Fingers crossed Phil and David both find BTCC drives for 2004.

[McKay]

just think he can't be as bad as Simmoni in 1994- or can he.

simoni wasnt bad. he wasnt so sucesful coz he always had to come second to tarquini. he could of won more races than he did

[Ed- the MG fan]

can't any one remember how many times if crashed in his first few races, but I will admit that in time he did improve, like in donington 1994

[Freddie]

Surprised me too. Just as the car was coming good they kick the drivers that developed the car out. Surely the cars are molding themselves to Phil and Davids backsides by now so the team will have to start from scratch with the new drivers.
I noticed that during the pit walkabout the least visited garage was the Proton one. Though they seemed to get better later on. Now there will be at least one strange face so, in theory, their support will be even lower. I hope I am proved wrong because they are a valuable asset to the grid and it would be a pity to lose them due to lack of support. Even if it is self inflicted.

[R5CPD]

As with the previous poster's. It's a real shame that Bennett and Lesile have been shown door at Proton. I do hope that they find decent drives next season in the BTCC or elsewhere.

This Malaysian chap is supposed to have been quite successful in the Malaysian and New Zealand saloon car championship, however I do think he's in for a bit of a shock once the BTCC panel-bashing begins next easter!!! :p

[Les]

Just to clear something up - they haven't been kicked out - their contracts were for 2 years and that 2 years is now up.

I have to say Proton will be one team that I probably won't follow next year.

[V6.]

Originally posted by Ed- the MG fan
having said all this this new guy might be a suprise. Surly the team know how good leslie is and would't just replace him tto please the sponsers and maufactre.

just think he can't be as bad as Simmoni in 1994- or can he.

How about steve robertson 96
he was bad

[R5CPD]

Originally posted by V6.
How about steve robertson 96
he was bad

Looking back, I actually thought that the Mondeo's were going to have a really strong season back in '96. That thought soon went out of the window once Robertson punted off his team mate Radisich at Donnington in the first race of the season.

Steve Robertson? Now that's a name for the 'whatever happened to?' file!!!:(

[touringlegend]

Doing a far better of managing than he did driving, I believe he is Kimi Raikkonen's manager these days. :)

[touringlegend]

Says in this weeks Autosport Phil and David are under contract till the end of October, but Phil has said on A N Other forum that himself and David were contracted till the last race of 2003.

[Toto]

Originally posted by touringlegend
Doing a far better of managing than he did driving, I believe he is Kimi Raikkonen's manager these days. :)
Correct. Although to be fair to Steve, I recall him passing and beating both Hakkinen and Salo in an F3 race at Silverstone. Not a bad pilot at all, particularly in single-seaters.

And Simoni. I thought he was a pretty decent driver. He'd not got the ability of Tarquini, but he was still a decent number two.

Back to Proton. Bennett would have been correct. He and Leslie were both contracted to do the final race of the 2003 season but it's also right to say they are contracted until the end of October. This will be for PR purposes. Just a misunderstanding of words. Indeed, drivers contracts rarely end with their team on the final race day of the season. There's always a little bit more afterwards ...

[KPC]

If I was a team manager at Proton I don't think I'd give Bennett a further drive. 14 points, half a dozen finishes, last of the works drivers again. Leslie on the other hand has done remarkably well with a grossly underdeveloped car. It would be good to see him back with a drive he deserves, as he has proven in years gone by that he is a championship contender.... he could even pull the rabbit out of the MG hat?

It's been good to see homegrown talent these past few years but the series will only attract money and interest, I wouldn't wonder, if there is once again an international mix of teams, drivers and manufacturers. Proton aren't going to be contenders for a few years yet so why not have a change of driver?

[VkmSpouge]

To be honest I wouldn't have been too surprised if Proton had just let only Phil Bennet go. His results weren't very impressive, admittedly Bennet did seem to have most of the bad luck but even so Leslie did seem to the more consistent of the two. I do wish Fariqe Hairuman and whoever the second driver is, well for next season.

[KPC]

We all thought Bennett was the latest prodigy in 2001 in the Astra, although we have been told over and over that it is as easy to drive as something that is very easy to drive. I think Phil's biggest problem throughout his time with Petronas was frustration, which in turn led to him driving too hard with the perhaps inevitable result. He achieved his fame rather than go unnoticed in the car, but is it infamy? Will h e get another drive.... remember what happened to Plato, and he was champion at the time.