Paddon only focused on finish
The finish line is the only focus for Hayden Paddon as he embarks on his third full season in the World Rally Championship (WRC).
Fourth overall in 2016 in combination with co-driver John Kennard, Paddon’s first crack at the season-opening event in Monte Carlo last year ended in disappointment on day one after he slid on ice, clipped a tree and caused extensive damage to his left rear wheel.
Despite being optimistic about what he and Blenheim-based Kennard could achieve in the more aggressive-looking 2017-specification Hyundai i20 Coupe, the 29-year-old from Geraldine said he was taking a more calculated approach to his second attempt at one of the WRC’S flagship rallies.
‘‘Monte Carlo is the most challenging event of the year,’’ Paddon said. ’’The ice, snow and changing conditions make it hard to be comfortable. As we didn’t finish here in our first attempt last year, the only focus this year is to finish the rally.
‘‘I think we have grown a lot over the past three years and I feel we are finally in a position where we have enough experience to allow us to be more competitive. So once we have Monte done with, it’s pedal to the metal for the remainder of the season.’’
Built to meet the revised technical regulations introduced for this year’s competition, the new cars have improved aerodynamic and mechanical grip, increased engine power up to 380bhp, reduced weight and also include the reintroduction of the active centre differential.
Paddon and Kennard completed about six days testing in the new machine completed last year, while a two-day test prior to the season-opener delivered both dry and icy tarmac conditions to assist preparation.
Although he felt it would be difficult to get the most out of the new cars on the unpredictable asphalt event in the mountains of the Principality on the south coast of France, the Kiwi flyer said they would get ‘‘a little’’ help with the addition of the active centre differential.
Kennard said they had done a lot of work in adjusting.
‘‘With the new car, the codriver’s challenge is to work out where the increases in car speed will be, in order to speed up the notes accordingly.
‘‘This is mainly out of medium to fast corners, where the active diff has most effect.
‘‘We’ve also been working on simplifying some of the notes a little, to make them easier to read, and for Hayden to absorb, while still keeping the detail needed to go quickly.’’
The Monte Carlo events starts with two stages and almost 50km in darkness into the Alps on Thursday night (Friday morning NZ time) and more than 85 per cent of the route is new compared to 2016.