Paddon relieved NZ back on circuit
WELLINGTON: Auckland is back on the World Rally Championship calendar next year, much to the relief of New Zealand driver Hayden Paddon.
Paddon wondered if the WRC would ever return to New Zealand after Covid19 stalled Auckland’s stage last year.
‘‘To be honest, I was thinking we might lose it forever,’’ Paddon said.
‘‘We sort of had one chance to have it and that was obviously last year and the window of opportunity was closing up pretty quickly, but due to the circumstances around the world and New Zealand’s position in the world I think it’s put us in a place where we look like we can host a world championship event quite successfully.
‘‘It’s still 12 months away and there’s a lot to still happen but people behind the scenes at Rally New Zealand made sure we were at the forefront and we able to make this opportunity possible for our sport.’’
It has been a decade since New Zealand hosted the motorsport event and Paddon said he planned to be on the start line for the rally which would run from September 29 to October 2.
But he doesn’t know which car he will drive.
‘‘Obviously I’d dearly love to have a chance to win Rally of
New Zealand but you’ve got to try and be in a world rally car for that and the opportunities in the WRC at the moment are very slim pickings.
‘‘But regardless we’ll keep knocking on doors and we’ll keep trying and between now and then make sure we drive as much as we can to make sure we stay on top of our game and see what opportunities present themselves.’’
Paddon said international drivers would be just as keen as he was to see the rally on New Zealand’s gravel roads.
‘‘There’s no secret that all drivers and teams say New Zealand has the best rally roads in the world ... but of course it is a long way for the teams and drivers to come and a pretty small country in terms of the commercial advantages for manufacturers, so that’s why it has been hard to get back here, but now that it is back here once people come they won't want to go again.’’
Previous Rally New Zealand winner and Toyota team principal JariMatti Latvala is looking forward to returning.
‘‘[It’s] one of the best rallies in the championship. If we say Rally Finland has the best roads and best feeling, I say that New Zealand is very close to Finland with the roads which has quite a nice camber and it’s like dancing on the gravel,’’ he said.
‘‘[There are] tight fights in New Zealand we saw that in 2010 when I won the rally, there was five cars going into the final stage who still had a chance to fight for the victory . . .’’
Throughout the pandemic, increasing numbers of fans have tuned in to follow the action and the WRC now has an annual audience of more than 800 million viewers.