It’s part of our DNA as motorsport fans that we reckon we’re pretty good drivers – certainly far better than your average ‘Saturday night car park warrior’.
If you’ve got some decent results in motorsport events as well, then your opinion of yourself (either publicly or privately) as a driver will almost certainly be inflated all the more.
That’s not a bad thing. Like any sport, the more you do, the better you should get.
But it’s not hard to get slapped back down a few rungs to the level of the also rans, especially these days when onboard footage of so many events are online just hours after events are completed.
Hayden Paddon’s performance over the first two rounds of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship are cases in point, and gives one the stark realisation that there are drivers, and there are DRIVERS!
Do yourself a favour, set aside nine minutes of your valuable time and watch Paddon’s incar from stage 16 of the Rally of Whangarei. Click here
Even for a hardened rally nut like myself, who’s been around the block a few times, has ridden with some top-line drivers and watched the world’s best from the stages, Paddon’s performance is simply breathtaking.
I’d challenge any driver in the world – Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville included – to drive this stage, in this car, with more commitment and more speed than Paddon!
His talent is incredible, and again, makes his demotion from the Hyundai WRC squad even more bewildering.
The performance of his new co-driver, Samantha Gray, is probably even more impressive though.
In her first event with Paddon, and her first in a car of this speed, having previously co-driven for Regan Ross in a Ford Escort RS1800, Gray looked to be faultless.
Reading notes at that speed, while staying composed and keeping up with the car, is arguably even more impressive than Paddon’s driving …. if that’s at all possible.
Her future looks incredibly bright, and she’ll be hoping beyond hope that Paddon gets that phone call from the Hyundai bosses sooner, rather than later.
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Ben Hunt’s second consecutive win in this year’s New Zealand Rally Championship has made him the hot favourite to take a second national crown.
His Subaru is a proven performer and Hunt’s speed against the lighter and more nimble AP4 and R5 cars continues to impress.
Dylan Turner had looked to be the man most likely to challenge Hunt at Whangarei, but an off-road excursion put paid to those plans and he scored a measly four points, relegating him to fourth in the championship.
Another strong result has elevated Josh Marston to second, while Andrew Hawkeswood’s up and down first two rounds leaves him third.
The luckless Emma Gilmour left Whangarei pointless for the second rally in a row.
Despite a huge effort by her team to rebuild her Suzuki Swift over the off-season, the car continues to prove temperamental.
Overheating problems early in the rally saw the trip north a long and unsatisfying one for Gilmour, who must now be wondering when her luck will change.
The NZRC resumes in a month’s time, at the Canterbury Rally.
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