South Canterbury rally driver Hayden Paddon believes he is fully recovered from a high impact crash in his last World Rally Championship event and ready for the Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend. Paddon has had two busy weeks since the previous event in Portugal where he and co-driver Seb Marshall ended the rally crashed into a culvert.
The impact affected an old injury in Paddon’s back and he’s been working with specialists to speed up his recovery.
“I’m feeling good and strong for the rally this weekend and am happy with the progress of recovery.”
Paddon is keeping his goals for the rally on the island of Sardinia straightforward – to have a clean rally and finish.
“If we can do that, then a good result will be possible. I’m mindful that between Portugal and Sardegna in the past, they have been somewhat bogey events for us over the last two years, so we want to put that right.”
Paddon and Marshall are well versed in Sardinia’s tough conditions, having competed their five and four times respectively.
“It’s a very demanding rally,” says Paddon.
“Rough stages and hot weather make it challenging for man and machine.
“It’s a rally we have had some success at in the past and it rewards the smart rather than outright speed. Managing tyres is key, especially as this year we effectively have four less tyres than last year.”
This year, more than a third of the 313.46 kilometres of 20 special stages have been revised in some way.
Following this weekend’s event, Paddon’s other WRC outings in 2018 are: Round 9: Finland, July 26-29; Round 10: Turkey, September 13-16; Round 11: Great Britain, October 4-7; Round 13: Australia, November 15-18.
Source: Stuff NZ