Paddon tackles tarmac in Rally Germany

Hayden Paddon and John Kennard will be looking forward to getting back on familiar ground at Rally Australia, after finishing ninth at the latest WRC round in Germany – regarded as one of the toughest tarmac rallies in the championship

Unfamiliar with racing on tarmac, Hayden treated the event as a learning experience. Competing in their newly upgraded Hyundai i20, the Kiwis ended Day 1 in eighth place, and then took a measured approach to overcome a turbo issue that slowed them considerably on the second day.

“It’s been another demanding rally. We had some set-up issues, which made it difficult to drive the car,” said Hayden. “We tried to improve in the afternoon, but the turbo problem got progressively worse.”

The Kiwis improved over the final day, posting top-six times within cooee of their Hyundai teammates Dani Sordo (Spain) and Thierry Neuville (Belgium), who claimed an historic 1-2 for the team at last year’s event.

“We knew heading into this rally that we would have to use it as a learning experience and build our confidence on tarmac. We were closer to our team-mates than we were expecting to be, which is a positive,” said Hayden.

Stepping up in Australia

Hayden is the lead driver for Hyundai Motorsport’s second-string N squad, but will take Sordo’s spot in the top team in Australia on 10 September.

Team principal Michel Nandan said the short-term line-up change has been made to improve their chances of taking second in the manufacturers’ championship.

“Hayden is very familiar with the Australian rally and, after his recent strong performances on gravel, he is more than capable of supporting us in this battle.”

Hayden said he is pleased with the faith the team has shown in him, and he’ll be aiming for another podium finish.