After the first two Rally New Zealand stages this morning, the Production Car World Rally Championship had the makings of an absolute classic: three drivers were split by just 2.2 seconds - and two of them were Kiwis, keeping the local fans firmly on their toes.
As day one closes, the leaderboard has a far more settled look about it, with Hayden Paddon two minutes clear in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX.
Despite being just 23 years old Paddon is already something of a celebrity in New Zealand rallying circles, having won the national title for the last two seasons. For this year, however, Paddon has gone global.
He won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship nomination for the Pirelli Star Driver scheme and is adding in P-WRC rounds here in New Zealand and in Japan to offer himself the best possible chance of adding a world title to his two domestic crowns. And his hopes of world glory took a step forward with a fine day behind the wheel of his Team Green car on the Northland roads today.
Paddon is no stranger to these stages - a fact reflected in his domination of the leaderboard as the day unfolded.
Fastest out of the blocks this morning was Subaru driver Richard Mason. Chasing New Zealand Championship as well as P-WRC points, Mason was unbeaten for the first three stages, but dropped behind Paddon when he was caught in another crew’s dust on the first run through Cassidy. That would be the least of his problems, however. Two stages later, his fine run ended in the trees when he put his Impreza off the road in SS6.
Japanese Toshi Arai had been the third driver in the cracking early tussle, but, once again, the double P-WRC champion’s event turned sour after he broke a cross-member on the third stage of the day. “I ran a little bit wide in one corner,” said Arai. “And I hit the back wheel on a bridge in the third stage. It broke the cross-member and we dropped more time in the fourth stage. Not so good, again. It’s very disappointing after a close start.”
Arai was forced out of the event three stages after the remote service. Unable to fix the problem, he stopped - with his Impreza also suffering from power steering issues.
That left Emma Gilmour second in her Impreza, albeit two minutes down on Paddon’s all-conquering Mitsubishi. Paddon was fastest on every dirt stage from SS4 to the end of the day.
“It’s been a good day,” smiled Paddon. “I’ve enjoyed it - I always enjoy these roads. I’ve done some of these stages, but in a different configuration. They’re definitely the best of the event - and it’s great to be out at the front. Now we’ve just got to stay there until the end.”
With Paddon and Gilmour first and second, Kingsley Thompson made it a Kiwi one-two-three at the top of the leaderboard ahead of the day’s final stage, the short asphalt blast around the Auckland Domain. Thompson is running the Czech National Team Mitsubishi on the event and led Argentinean Miguel Baldoni (Mitsubishi) by just three seconds after the day’s penultimate test.