Paddon still heads ERC points after Rome

New Zealand rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard gave it everything they could at Rally di Roma Capitale over the weekend in a very close-fought competition with fast local drivers.

While they’d have loved to finish higher than the sixth place they earned in the Hyundai i20 Rally 2, they are both still at the top of their respective driver and co-driver points-tables of the 2024 FIA European Rally Championship.

The closeness of the ERC top-runners is highlighted by the fact that the New Zealanders finished just 38.2 seconds behind the winner, Italian driver Andrea Crugnola and only 6.1 seconds off their closest championship rival Mathieu Franceschi, who finished fifth, after 189 km of competition.

Describing it as a tough weekend, Paddon said they were obviously looking for more. “It’s not from a lack of trying by the team, BRC Racing, John and myself. We’re simply lacking performance compared to our rivals and we gave it everything we could with the package we had.”

Paddon says he feels like it was some of his best driving on any tarmac rally to date. “Everything felt really good on the stages with top three and top five stage times throughout the event, but overall the times weren’t quite there. It’s so close and we couldn’t put up the fight we wanted to those who finished ahead of us.”

Still being at the top of the championship leaderboard is a silver lining to the weekend’s results, with Paddon now on 89 points compared to Franceschi’s 82 with three ERC rounds to go.

“Everything’s running reliably and well, but it’s back to the drawing board with the team to see what solutions we can find to bridge the gap which we seem to be missing this year. We certainly haven’t given up and will keep working hard to try and secure our second ERC title.”

Next up for Paddon, Kennard and the BRC Racing Hyundai 120 Rally 2 is Barum Czech Rally Zlín, also on tarmac, running 16 to 18 August.

Paddon Racing Group appreciates the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Mitre 10 Trade, Z Energy, Valvoline, Makita, Bars Bugs, Pirelli, OMP/Racer Products, Winmax Brake Pads, South Canterbury Road Safety, TrailLite, Repco NZ, Stedi, Highlands Motorsport Park, MITO, Machinery House, Design Windows, Bartercard, Mike Greer Homes, Provident Insurance, King Gee Clothing and Signbiz.

Keep up with Hayden Paddon’s news via the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/paddonracinggroup.