Kiwi driver Hayden Paddon is heading to the penultimate round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship, Wales Rally GB, having enjoyed his most successful season in the series so far.
The Hyundai Motorsport driver has secured his first win as well as a handful of podium finishes this year and is right in the mix for the runners up spot just 13 points behind Volkswagen‘s Andreas Mikkelsen.
Paddon completed a one day gravel test with the rest of his team before the event and after securing fourth place, his best result on tarmac, at the last round in Spain he will be full of confidence going back on to his favourite surface, gravel, on Wales Rally GB.
“Rally Spain was a valuable event for us.” said the Kiwi “We really made some good progress on the tarmac stages, and that was rewarded with our best result on the surface. I am now ready for a return to the loose stuff, so I’m looking forward to Wales Rally GB. It’s an event I enjoy a lot.
“It reminds me a bit of being back in New Zealand with the Welsh forest, and of course being an English-speaking venue. Despite it being an enjoyable rally, I’ve never really been able to put together a good result. That is definitely something we want to rectify this year.”
The rally will be over a total of 330.21 kilometres spread over 22 stages. The action kicks off on Friday’s stages which comprises over half of the total distance with a staggering 178km of punishing gravel stages.
