SHORTCUTS

KIWI rally driver Hayden Paddon has made the switch from the WRC to the GRC for the series’ inaugural sixround season.

Cromwellbased Paddon (31) will be driving a Pantera RX6 car, similar to the one in this photograph, with a Hyundai i30 body kit in the Europebased rallycross series.

‘‘I have been in rallying for a long time, so rallycross is not completely new to me, but I will have to adapt to cars racing alongside me. GRC Europe will be a new challenge and I am looking forward to taking it on, joining the other drivers throughout the year and trying to be competitive,’’ he said.

The 2019 GRC Europe season kicks off with the official test at the MJP Arena Fuglau (Austria) in early May, before the points chase starts in Dreux (France) on June 29 to 30.

SCOTSMAN Alister McRae managed to give himself the jitters as he notched a record time to win his third consecutive Leadfoot Festival last weekend.

Driving the exPossum Bourne Vantage Subaru WRX STI. McRae cracked 48 seconds for the first time in the eightyear history of the event, thundering up the 1.6km driveway in 47.99 seconds.

‘‘The previous run for me I thought was almost perfect, but you have always got to dig a bit deeper. I didn’t know the time when I got to the top but both my leg and my hand was shaking so that means I scared myself,’’ McRae said.

Rotorua’s Sloan Cox and his Mitsubishi Evo hill climb special (48.67sec) was again the bridesmaid for the third consecutive year and Paul Dallenbach (US) drove his monstrous open wheeler to third in 49.98sec.