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The first full day’s rallying of Rally Sardegna 2015 is well underway, and we’re onto SS4 having seen two stage victories from Hayden Paddon so far this morning. SS4, Montiferru 1, is a 14.41km stage which, as with many Sardinian stages, comprises of a number of different surfaces and challenges.
The stage begins with a hazardous bedrock section, demanding care and attention from the drivers to avoid damage, before opening up into some faster, more flowing sections. A big water splash and shadowy wooded sections make things tricky towards the end. The stage was not short of victims – Andreas Mikkelsen suffered right rear suspension damage, finishing the stage four minutes down and with heavy damage to his Polo, which was dragging the right rear corner along. Meanwhile a driveshaft problem for Elfyn Evans meant that he dropped almost a minute and a half and Ostberg suffered with rear wheel damage from the rocks, though managed to complete the stage without losing time. It was Kiwi Hayden Paddon who yet again won the stage, increasing his rally lead by another 5.5 seconds over Jari Matti Latvala, who was fourth quickest through the stage. Paddon’s fellow Hyundai driver Thierry Neuville was second quickest, 4.2 seconds down on his team mate, with the ever-present Ogier third fastest both in the stage and overall. ‘I’m really happy. I must admit the new paddle-shift on my car makes a big difference on these stages. The first stage win was a surprise, now we’re just trying to make the most of our road position advantage.’ commented Paddon. Sordo and Tanak round out the top six, with the scene at the end of the stage involving a roadside rear suspension topmount change for Mikkelsen – there’s just a 2.5km stage to go before the crews can enter service. Paddon’s overall lead is |
