Paddon shines in Otago
Hayden Paddon has clinched his eighth Otago Rally crown after he and co-driver John Kennard overcame two punctures to seal victory in this year’s event.
The pairing in the Paddon Rallysport-prepared Hyundai i20 AP4 dominated the April 17-18 event and finished with a winning margin of seven minutes and 32.9 seconds over second-placed Josh Marston.
It was also the fourth win for the duo in the Hyundai at the rally, which was the opening round of the 2021 New Zealand Rally Championship (NZRC).
They took out 12 of the race’s 14 stages, with punctures on two stages denying them a clean sweep.
Paddon says: “It’s awesome to come away with a win, particularly after the off-season and how busy it’s been for the team.
“It was a shame we couldn’t quite get the clean sweep of stages … Nevertheless, there was a huge amount of attrition among other leading competitors, and we had to manage the car and the conditions to get through.”
The Kiwi star also drove his Hyundai Kona EV rally car during two demonstration runs in the super special tarmac stage on April 16.
Meanwhile, Dunedin car dealer Emma Gilmour was left to rue her bad luck after technical problems forced her out of the race after running second behind Paddon in the first two stages of the event.
She and co-driver Malcolm Peden were sidelined on stage three of the first day, the 50km Manuka Hill stage, by a sensor issue causing throttle control problems in their Suzuki Swift AP4.
Gilmour says: “It was just so disappointing to have run the car all last year without any problems. Then for this to happen on my home event and the New Zealand Rally Championship’s opening round, it’s just heart breaking because we know how fast we can be.”
After fixing the car overnight, they clinched a second, a third and two fourth placings on day two of the action before a power steering leak on stage 12 reduced the Suzuki to an uncompetitive pace.
Round two of the NZRC is the International Rally of Whangarei on May 15-16.
Results
1. Hayden Paddon and John Kennard, Hyundai i20 AP4
2. Josh Marston and Andrew Graves, Holden Barina AP4
3. Regan Ross and Katrina Renshaw, Ford Fiesta R5,
4. Todd Bawden and Paul Burborough, Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6
5. Matt Summerfield and Nicole Summerfield, Mitsubishi Mirage AP4
