Hayden Paddon dominates shakedown in Spain

On a mixed route almost 3 km long, Hyundai and Hayden Paddon came to the fore this morning, during the shakedown of the Rally from Spain. The Kiwi driver was the fastest with a provisional reference time established in 2'07″05, enough to beat the three-time reigning world champion Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen Polo) by two tenths.

Robert Kubica (Ford), who announced that his 2016 season would no longer necessarily go through a complete WRC campaign, climbs to third place three tenths behind Paddon and precedes Ott Tänak (Ford) and Dani Sordo (Hyundai) for the top 5.

Winner in Corsica, Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen), finished sixth, two seconds behind, just ahead of his teammate Andreas Mikkelsen. Elfyn Evans (Ford), Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) and Mads Ostberg (DS3) complete the top 10, from which Kris Meeke (DS3) is absent. The first SS will start at 18:08 p.m. in Barcelona.

Provisional shakedown classification Rally of Spain:

1-Hayden Paddon-John Kennard (Hyundai i20 WRC), 2’07″5
2-Sébastien Ogier-Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), 2’07″7
3-Robert Kubica-Maciej Szczepaniak (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), 2’07″8
4-Ott Tänak-Raigo Molder (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), 2’08″6
5-Dani Sordo-Marc Martí (Hyundai i20 WRC), 2’08″8
6-Jari-Matti Latvala-Miikka Anttila (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), 2’09″5
7-Andreas Mikkelsen-Ola Floene (Volkswagen Polo R WRC), 2’09″7
8-Elfyn Evans-Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta RS WRC), 2’10″3
9-Thierry Neuville-Nicolas Gilsoul (Hyundai i20 WRC), 2’10″3
10-Mads Ostberg-Jonas Andersson (Citroën DS3 WRC), 2’10″5