Paddon puts foot down on tarmac
Kiwi rally driver Hayden Paddon won his first all-tarmac event with compatriot and Jared Hudson at the Rali Ceredigion in Wales.
Driving a Hyundai i20 N R5, Paddon boosted to victory last weekend with his 18-year-old co-driver from Christchurch at the Tour European Rally (TER) event in Aberystwyth.
The New Zealand pair took the lead in Saturday’s final stage and retained it through Sunday’s eight stages to cross the finish line 38.7sec ahead of 2019 winner Osian Pryce.
Paddon’s win kept him second in the
TER standings after his second event with Hudson that went through Welsh towns and country roads.
He praised Hudson for his performance. ‘‘At just 18 years of age, I’ve been very impressed with Jared.
‘‘This is a tough rally for a co-driver and he’s done really well. This is actually my first ever outright asphalt rally win, so I’ll just have to keep coming back to do it again,’’ Paddon said.
Meanwhile, Finnish rally driver Kalle Rovanpera¨ has been confirmed on the start list for Rally New Zealand in Auckland from September 29 to October 2. The 11th round of the World Rally Championship returns to New Zealand for the 32nd time and first occasion in 11 years. Rovanpera¨ has already won seven WRC titles and heads a list of international drivers from 13 nations who will race around Auckland.
Former French world champion Se´bastien Ogier will be eyeing victory in New Zealand for the first time. Others racing include Kiwi drivers Paddon and Shane van Gisbergen, Welshman Elfyn Evans, Japan’s Takamoto Katsuta, Estonian Ott Ta¨nak, Sweden’s Oliver Solberg, Ireland’s Craig Breen, and France’s Adrien Fourmaux.