Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, driving this weekend for the Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team, have made solid progress during Saturday’s longest leg of Rallye Deutschland, improving from eighth to fifth in the overall standings.
“It’s been a trying day but we’ve definitely made some improvements compared to yesterday,” Paddon said. “We had some unpredictable conditions in the morning, which made tyre choice very difficult. Unfortunately, we got it wrong and were on hard tyres when we should have selected soft – and vice-versa. The feeling in the car was a bit foreign in those conditions so we had to drive sensibly.
“I am a competitive person by nature but I’ve had to be patient today. You can’t get the same experience in pre-event testing, so we’ve had a lot to learn over the past two days. We’re inside the top-five and have had a more positive conclusion to the day. I fully intend to take that forward to Sunday and look to consolidate our position.”
Hyundai Motorsport is involved in a captivating three-way battle for second position in Rallye Deutschland, the ninth round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). Just four seconds separate second, third and fourth placed crews at the end of 14 of this weekend’s 18 special stages.
On a thrilling day in Germany – where unpredictable terrain conditions and tyre choices influenced performance levels – Hyundai Shell World Rally Team drivers Thierry Neuville and Dani Sordo fought hard to close the gap to second place. Hayden Paddon, driving this weekend for the Hyundai Mobis World Rally Team, also made solid progress, improving his position on the overall standings from eighth to fifth.
A mixture of wet, damp and dry conditions throughout the day required crews to make tough tyre decisions. Although the morning loop proved complicated, the repeat stages allowed the Hyundai Motorsport drivers the opportunity to make improvements.
Hyundai Motorsport is looking to return to the podium tomorrow to celebrate the team’s home rally in style. With all three New Generation i20 WRC cars in the top-five, the team is well placed to achieve its objective – but at the same time knowing from previous seasons that anything can happen on the final morning.
Four stages make up Sunday’s itinerary with Dhrontal (14.79km) and Sauertal (14.84km) run twice, the latter being held as the Power Stage. 59.26km of stages are all that separate Hyundai Motorsport from a home podium in Rallye Deutschland.
Overall Classification after Day Two
S. Ogier / J. Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) 2:25:10.5
A. Mikkelsen / A. Jaeger (Volkswagen Polo R WRC) +33.4
D. Sordo / M. Martí (Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) +37.0
T. Neuville / N. Gilsoul (Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) +37.4
H. Paddon / J. Kennard (Hyundai New Generation i20 WRC) +3:33.9
M. Østberg / O. Floene (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) +4:06.4
E. Lappi / J. Ferm (Škoda Fabia R5) +7:16.2
P. Tidemand / J. Andersson (Škoda Fabia R5) +7:43.2
J. Kopecky / P. Dresler (Škoda Fabia R5) +8:26.1
A. Kremer / P. Winllhofer (Škoda Fabia R5) +8:44.5
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