Paddon positive about rest of season

Hayden Paddon is back in New Zealand and is enjoying the break after struggling during the latest round of the WRC. He sat down with Under Construction to discuss his plans for the rest of the year

Despite a tough finish in Mexico after a strong start to the year, Hayden Paddon is confident that he and co-driver John Kennard will be fighting for top-three finishes in the second half of the season.

“In the events I’m more familiar with, we’ll be pushing towards getting on the podium. In the meantime, I’m just focusing on improving and getting more experience,” says Paddon.

Having finished sixth in Rally Australia in 2014, he’s aiming for a podium there in September.

“Ideally, we’d like to be finishing regularly in the Top 5, but there are some key events where we’ll be targeting podiums. It’s still a pretty tough ask: we’re competing against the best in the world.”

There’s no place like home

Back home for a month, working with sponsors ahead of Rally Argentina, he says there’s nowhere in the world like New Zealand. While not competing in any local events this time around, he’ll be taking part in the Otago Rally when he’s back again in May.

Paddon says he would have loved to take part in the rejuvenated Race to the Sky, but couldn’t because of a date clash.

“It would have been awesome to do it! I remember going there as a kid; I loved watching Monster, Possum Bourne and Rod Millen,” he said. “However, it’s not that straightforward – to win, you need an 800kg, 800hp car, and building something like that isn’t a five-minute project.”

High attrition rate expected in Argentina

Expected to be even tougher than its Latin counterpart, Paddon isn’t looking for any miracles at Rally Argentina, despite winning the PWRC category in 2011.

It was the same year he won the PWRC, but Paddon says that experience won’t count for much this time.

“Almost all of the stages are new to me and we’re in a completely different car. Our goal is to complete the rally and score points.

“We saw how high the attrition rate was in Mexico, and these roads are even tougher on the cars,” he says. “They are very sandy and become rutted more quickly. Rocks buried among the sand can also become exposed over time, unlike Mexico where they’re more visible, which could lead to a few surprises.”

Rally Argentina starts on 23 April and features a double pass of El Condor, famed for its moonlike landscape.