Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon will tackle his least preferred surface in Rallye Deutschland this weekend.Rally Germany marks the first of a series of four WRC tarmac events.Paddon said while the “black stuff” was not his preferred surface, it was an opportunity to learn and develop for the future.
Hayden Paddon is looking forward to the challenge of the tarmac.
He will be competing for the No.2 Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team.Team-mates Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo, who returned after an injury lay-off, are competing for the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team. The pair created a historic one-two finish for Hyundai Motorsport at Rallye Deutchland in 2014.
The 28-year-old Paddon said it was nice to go into an event with no pressure or expectations from the team or himself.
“I have to be realistic and open minded to learn,” Paddon said.
“I have competed in something like 150 gravel rallies in my life and maybe only seven tarmac rallies. It does require a different driving style and technique and this is something I need to adapt to.”
Paddon said he always challenged himself to do the best job possible.
“But this weekend is about finishing to gain maximum mileage and to continue to improve stage by stage.
“Last year it was a dive into the unknown with our relative lack of experience on tarmac. I think my driving on this surface has improved a lot in the last 12 months. It was a good test here and I’m learning all the time.”
Rally Germany is somewhat of a home event for Paddon’s team, with their base situated only two hours’ drive from the rallies host city of Trier.
It is also effectively three tarmac rallies in one.
The stages vary from smooth, narrow vineyard lanes, to the fast and bumpy public roads and to the ever changing military range of Baumholder.
Paddon said it meant having to adapt to each stage with both the car setup and driving technique.
The key on tarmac was to be smooth, he said.
“This is not just with the lines we drive on the road, but also relates to the input of brakes, throttle and steering.
“Perhaps the hardest thing to get used to, however, is the feeling of lack of speed you get.
“But it’s deceptive – in fact, because of the higher grip levels, the speeds are higher. But because of both the lack of movement of the car and the smoother driving style, it doesn’t.
“So it’s just as much a mental challenge to adapt and have the right feeling for the speed.”
Paddon said it had been a busy fortnight since his fifth place finish in Finland.
“It started by flying straight to south of France where I spent a day in a very cool 600bhp GT car on the race track further developing my technique.
“With the help of Nicholas Berhandi and the team running the car we were able to focus on some key areas which I will look to put into practice this weekend.”
Paddon admitted in the heat of competition that was easier said than done.
Rally Germany marks the ninth of 14 WRC events.
Paddon sits in fourth spot overall overall on the WRC standings on 84 points, just three adrift of Finn Jari-Matti Latvala.
Defending champion Sebastien Ogier is the runaway leader on 143 points with Andreas Mikkelsen second on 98.
Paddon said it was also great that he would share the Germany event with many Kiwis who had joined the team’s tour group.
“I’m sure it will help us to lift our game that little extra.