Kiwi rally stars Hayden Paddon and John Kennard faced a gruelling battle in a fiercely competitive field at Rally Islas Canarias, which ran from 2 to 4 May, as the second round of the 2024 FIA European Rally Championship.
As the defending ERC champions, Paddon and Kennard were top seed in their BRC Racing-run Hyundai i20 Rally 2 on the 73-car strong entry list for the all-tarmac rally around the island. They started out by winning Thursday evening’s super special stage, a 1.8km sprint around the streets of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria that ended inside a stadium.
The intensity of competition was highlighted by the close times throughout Friday’s six special stages. The Kiwis started out the day with the 12th fastest time and improved with each stage to finish Friday in third place, just 12.1 seconds off the day’s leader, Spainard Alejandro Cachón.
Paddon described it as a day of two halves. “We were really struggling with handling on the morning loop, then the team did an amazing job to change the setup for the afternoon which gave us a lot more confidence.”
With another trio of repeated stages to wrap up the rally, Paddon and Kennard were ready to give it their best shot. However, they were fighting against two very fast French and three Spanish drivers for the final podium positions and didn’t quite have the same pace. The pair finished sixth overall, just over 40 seconds behind the winner, Frenchman Yoan Bonato with Paddon putting that time difference in context with his second-place finish in this rally last year.
“Not the result we wanted but not from a lack of trying, having done the best we could with what we have,” commented Paddon. “We’re just missing some pace to the very fast local drivers. The ERC is so close this year. Last year we finished second here, 36 seconds off the leader and this year, we were sixth and only 40 seconds behind the winner.
“Happy to have moved up to second in the championship, and when we return to the ERC for Sweden in June and Estonia in July, both rallies are on gravel where we’re determined to narrow the points deficit to the championship leader.”
Now with 35-points, Paddon currently trails championship leader Mathieu Franceschi by 21 points and holds a slender two-point lead over third-placed Simone Tempestini.
This coming weekend, Paddon returns to the 2024 New Zealand Rally Championship for the second round, the one-day Rally South Canterbury on 11 May. Christchurch’s 20-year-old Jared Hudson is co-driving beside Paddon who’ll be piloting the multi championship-winning Hyundai i20 AP4 car for the first time in two years.
Paddon starts his 2024 NZRC campaign behind the eight-ball, having missed the first round in Otago due to competing at the ERC’s Rally Hungary. Acknowledging the competitive edge gained by their adversaries in their absence, he anticipates a thrilling battle ahead.
“I’m very much looking forward to getting back to what is sort of our home rally on the roads around Timaru. Obviously there is a bit of a target on our back but it’s also exciting to see the strength of local competition.”
The South Canterbury Rally comprises eight stages and 154 kilometres and wraps up with some high-speed runs around the Levels Raceway super special stage.
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