Hayden Paddon will more than likely win this weekend’s Coromandel Rally by minutes, rather than seconds, but his total domination of this year’s New Zealand Rally Championship is, for want of a better term, a means to an end.
With a reduced WRC program meaning he only gets to contest seven top-level rallies in the works Hyundai i20 WRC this year, Paddon needed to find as many events as possible to keep him sharp, and to ensure that he is on his A-game every time he jumps behind the wheel.
That was proven in spades at the recent Rally Finland where he finished fourth outright on the world’s most specialised rally – his best ever result in the land of the 1000 lakes.
But you might wonder how driving a lower spec car on back-country New Zealand roads can prepare you for the big time.
Surely Paddon’s home-built Hyundai New Zealand AP4+ is a world away from the all-singing, all-dancing WRC car he drives on the world stage?
“Rallying is all about seat time – and while the car, events and competition is different, I find the biggest competitor is myself,” Paddon told Talk Motorsport this week.
Any sportsperson will tell you that practice makes perfect. It’s a bit like a Test cricketer playing T20. It’s not the same thing and the tactics are far different, but essentially it’s still cricket.
The same goes for rallying.
“I’m always trying to improve with pace-notes, preparation methods and delivering, which the NZRC allows me to do,” Paddon adds.
“If we only did the seven WRC events a year and nothing else, we would be left behind.
“With our NZ and international programs this year we are, in fact, doing more events, but with less mileage, as we miss out a lot of testing this year.”
Pace-notes and the process behind writing and delivering them is one thing, but the AP4 car is a world away from a World Rally Car. Surely it’s like taking a machete to a gun fight?
It’s a bit of yes and no, according to Paddon.
“How I drive the cars is similar, but with the AP4 I have to be a little more patient to make it do what I want it to do.
“We have got our AP4 to a point where it’s very nice to drive, (and) equal, if not better, than an R5.
“But WRC is next level in all areas. The only things that have similar performance levels are the brakes and tyres,” he says.
All of which is great news for Paddon fans keen to see him move back into a full-time drive in 2019, but not good news for his NZRC competitors.
Having said that, none of them seem to begrudge the fact that he’s here taking trophies and points off them, and it’s clear for all to see that New Zealand rallying is the real benefactor.
Seeing Paddon contest both the WRC and the NZRC means we get the best of both worlds – and that can’t be half bad!
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