WRC – Stressful final for Hayden Paddon

Fifth last year on the Scandinavian roads, the New Zealander Hayden Paddon est la grande satisfaction dans le clan Hyundai at the end of the Rally from Sweden. Taking advantage of Kris Meeke's setbacks on the evening of the first stage, the Kiwi driver of the i20 WRC had climbed into second position and kept the leader under pressure Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen Polo).

With seventeen seconds behind before the 15,87 km of the Power Stage, Paddon had little hope of achieving victory in a regular manner against the three-time world champion. The former PWRC winner was unable to threaten Ogier, but suffered a slight scare in the final meters, after damaging his mount's radiator in a collision with a post demarcating the road.

« We were hoping for a less stressful ending, but unfortunately we had a small water leak from the radiator after hitting a pole, which required repairs, Paddon points out. Fortunately, we managed to find a temporary solution and return to service with our second place. »

The New Zealander also discovered the latest iteration of the i20 WRC for the first time in a race during this Swedish Rally, after having competed in the Monte-Carlo Rally on the 2015 version of the Korean WRC and said satisfied with the behavior of his mount.

“This incident aside, we had an excellent weekend and I felt very comfortable in the New Generation i20 WRC. We made the most of our position on the road when we had the chance. In the future, we will try to fight more and more for victory but there is work needed on my driving and on the car settings. »

Find the full report and analysis of the Swedish Rally, produced by our special correspondents, in issue 2050 of AUTOhebdo, available from tomorrow evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.