Paddon gets a grip on WRC in Sardinia

New Zealand’s top rally driver shows his competitiveness at Rally Italia Sardegna.

Hayden Paddon and John Kennard gained valuable experience in their Hyundai WRC debut at Rally Italia Sardegna, finishing 12^th overall and securing an impressive top-five time on the event’s brand-new final stage.

On Sardinia’s technical, narrow, rock-strewn roads, route knowledge is one of a driver’s strongest allies – yet, with the playing field levelled on a final 8.98 km power stage no-one had raced before, the Kiwi duo proved their competitiveness and were only 0.5 seconds’ behind Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville, runner-up in last year’s championship.

“Given this stage was new to the rally, it really shows how experience counts across the whole event,” says Hayden. “It puts us in good stead for Rally Poland, which hasn’t been in the championship for the past five years and will be new for a lot of drivers.”

While Hayden is used to going for the top spot, he and the team’s objectives for 2014 are to learn and develop in a competitive rally environment – they will be fine-tuning the Hyundai i20 WRC car as well as honing driving skills.

“It’s been very challenging, but to get through the stages and get some valuable time in the car is going to help us a lot. We’ve got a significant amount of information to take away from this that will help us improve going forward.”

Aside from a puncture on Day 1, the team’s only issue was having to temporarily withdraw on Day 2 after a water crossing caused a misfire in
the engine.

“Despite our best efforts, we couldn’t get the car going again; however, the team repaired the problem overnight, ensuring we could compete on Day 3 – albeit with a 10-minute penalty,” said Hayden.

Overall, Hayden says it was the most difficult rally he’s ever contested, but he truly enjoyed the challenge.

“It’s also been encouraging to see so many Kiwis here in Italy. This opportunity wouldn’t be possible without the support of my fans and my sponsors – thanks so much for standing behind me!”

First place went to reigning champion Sebastien Ogier of France, whose fourth win of the season in his VW Polo extended his championship lead to 33 points.