New Zealanders Hayden Paddon and John Kennard hold sixth place at the end of Friday’s (CET) first day of action at WRC Sweden. While there’s been all kinds of action on the snowy stages among their fellow competitors, for the Kiwis, their focus has been on their own game, their own confidence, as they tackle full-speed WRC competition for the first time since crashing and retiring on the first day in Monte Carlo in January.
At the end of the day’s seven special stages which took competitors over the border into Norway, Paddon said: “A tough day. We expected there to be some challenges this morning. I certainly underestimated the mental challenge of getting back in car in competition and everything really felt abnormal on the morning loop. I sat with my engineer Rui at lunch and we made some changes to the car to make it easier to drive, not necessarily changes to make it faster, just to get some confidence back in.
“The afternoon was certainly a big step in the right direction. Things don’t quite feel 100% yet, we’re working on it piece by piece, but the feeling’s starting to come back and we’re starting to enjoy it this afternoon. Gives us something really good to build on going into tomorrow. I think we can start our season proper tomorrow. I’ll get in the car with a lot more confidence with a setup that’s working and try to get a bit of momentum on our way.”
Their stage times highlighted the changes going on in the car – from the morning’s ninth and 11th fastest times to the afternoon’s second and third quickest times.
Hyundai Motorsport has taken five stage wins on the first complete day of this weekend’s Rally Sweden with Thierry Neuville heading the classification by an encouraging 28.1s.
Like at the season-opening round in Monte-Carlo, the Belgian put himself in strong contention at the front of the field from the outset of the rally, building confidence alongside co-driver Nicolas Gilsoul as the day progressed.
In the second round of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Hyundai Motorsport is aiming to fulfil the clear performance promise shown by its Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC so far.
A total special stage distance of 125.38km will be run on the penultimate day of Rally Sweden.
A repeat loop of three stages will make up the bulk of Saturday’s itinerary, which culminates in a Super Special Stage at the fan-friendly Karlstad Trotting track.
Saturday gets underway with the longest stage of the day – the 31.6km Knon test – before moving onto familiar territory at Hagfors. The 14.27km Vårgasen challenge completes the trio of stages, which includes the famous Colin’s Crest jump. The crew who registers the longest jump here will win the coveted Colin’s Crest Award.
Hyundai Motorsport has seen its crews take this accolade twice previously – Juho Hänninen in 2014 and Thierry Neuville in 2015.
Overall Classification after Day One
1 T. Neuville N. Gilsoul Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC 1:16:24.7
2 J. M. Latvala M. Anttila Toyota Yaris WRC +28.1
3 O. Tanak M. Jarveoja Ford Fiesta WRC +49.7
4 K. Meeke P. Nagle Citroën C3 WRC +51.8
5 S. Ogier J. Ingrassia Ford Fiesta WRC +55.7
6 H. Paddon J. Kennard Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:17.8
7 D. Sordo M. Martí Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC +1:40.3
8 C. Breen P. Nagle Citroën C3 WRC +1:54.3
9 E. Evans D. Barritt Ford Fiesta WRC +3:01.5
10 S. Lefebvre G. Moreau Citroën C3 WRC +3:23.6
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