Paddon learning to tame the tarmac

Hayden Paddon and John Kennard overcame wild weather at the latest round of the WRC, dancing their way to fifth place at Tour de Corse in Corsica – known as the rally of 10,000 corners

The French island hadn’t played host to a WRC round since 2008, meaning teams needed to rely more heavily on their pace notes than normal to negotiate the twisting, mountainous roads. The event followed a classic endurance rally format, but torrential rain and flooding forced organisers to cancel two of the nine stages.

With limited tarmac experience, Hayden and John took a cautious approach on the opening day and finished the first stage 15th fastest. They had to contend with a broken wheel in the afternoon stage, which led to a close shave.

“We hit a rock after the first kilometre, which damaged one of our wheels. The car had bad vibrations after that and we were very lucky later on, when we passed close to a sheer drop,” said Hayden. “It was a heart in the mouth moment, so we were just pleased to make it to end of the day!”

Despite the narrow escape and damaged wheel, the pair finished Day One in 11th. The second day featured the longest stage of the rally, the 48.46km Muracciole-Col de Sorba.

They completed it in 28:35.8, to finish the day in seventh. After spending the first two days refining their tarmac technique and familiarising themselves with Tour de Corse’s unique characteristics, the Kiwis put the pedal to the metal on the final day, the third-fastest time on the penultimate stage, equal with eventual rally winner Jari-Matti Latvala. The result leap-frogged them into fifth, ahead of Norway’s Mads Ostberg, and also saw them finish ahead of their Hyundai teammates and tarmac specialists Thierry Neuville (Belgium) and Dani Sordo (Spain).

“We’ve improved our tarmac driving technique this weekend and, while we still have things to improve on, I’m happy with what we’ve achieved this weekend,” said Hayden. “It certainly gives us something solid to build on for Spain.”

It is the fifth time this season that Hayden has finished inside the top-five, and the ten points he earned pushed him into eighth overall on the championship ladder. The result bodes well for his future in the WRC, as he is currently in negotiations for a new contract.