Paddon in box seat for second ERC title
NZ rally star Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard stand on the verge of a second straight European Rally Championship title after taking out the Rali Ceredigion in Wales in dominant fashion.
After making history in 2023 as the ERC’s first non-European winner across 70 years, Paddon has admittedly had a tougher year in his Hyundai i20 N Rally2, with this also being his first ERC win since Portugal back in March of last year.
Despite that, his consistency has him on top the table in 2024 despite only one podium finish prior to Wales, with his ability to keep in the fight and avoid retirements having been the key, with no other drivers having had more than win apiece this season.
His closest opponent, Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi, has had two retirements on the other hand, and with only one round remaining in Poland, Paddon has a 27 point advantage with 35 up for grabs.
Paddon’s second career win at the Rali Ceredigion sets up a shot at back-to-back ERC titles
The veteran Kiwi stars did all the heavy lifting on the opening day with a dominant seven out of eight stage wins. And although he could afford to be cautious on Sunday, he still found the speed to take out the Power Stage points on his way to a 1min 47.3 second victory over Italian Skoda driver Andrea Mabellini.
“It was a very good weekend, everything has just gone like clockwork. It’s full credit to the guys in the team because they’ve been working hard all year to get things dialled in with the car and everything has clicked a lot, even this weekend,” Paddon said.
“Not only the car but the tyres have been working well in the conditions, as well as the pace notes from John, when everything works, it’s easy.”
On the fact that they’ve not popped the champagne since 2023 in the ERC, he says that the win is a timely relief.
“We’ve been chasing this feeling for quite a while, and finally, this weekend, we got that feeling.”
“…It’s a relief. It’s been a very, very tough season, not for a lack of trying, but to put it right this weekend, and to do it reasonably comfortably, is a huge credit to the team.
“The job’s not done yet but it makes it a lot easier for the last one.”
It was also Paddon’s second ever win at Rali Ceredigion, having also won there in 2021.
It wasn’t the only Antipodean triumph in Wales, with the WA born Max McRae taking out the Junior win in his Rally4 Peugeot 208, alongside co-driver Cameron Fair.
Although McRae can’t run down the title winner Mille Johansson who clinched it with a second place , +46.4 seconds behind in a shortened day of two stages, the Aussie/Scotchman was pleased after overcoming a 3.3 second deficit from Saturday.
“It’s been a good weekend. We’ve been top-three (Junior ERC) overall and in stage times all weekend, and we won the Power Stage pretty comfortably,” McRae said.
McRae took his second Junior ERC win of the year in Wales
“I’m happy with the way everything went, but it wasn’t an easy one – the conditions were quite tricky.
“There wasn’t a lot of rain, but there were some damp places and a lot of corners where the cars ahead had cut through them, pulling a lot of mud and gravel into the road.
“It was demanding to have so much mud around in some of them, but that just made the win all the more satisfying.”
The final round of the FIA European Rally Championship heads for Rally Silesia in Poland on October 11-13.
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