APRC: Paddon wins Rally of Whangarei

Hayden Paddon clinched victory at round 3 of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, the Rally of Whangarei, at the weekend.

The New Zealander, a 2010 Pirelli Star Driver, took his home event in dominant fashion in his Mitsubishi Evo IX, winning by almost four minutes from his nearest rival, despite a scare on the very first stage.

“To stand on the top of the podium at the end with the New Zealand National Anthem in the background is a very special feeling and now the target is to carry this confidence and development into the WRC with the remaining Pirelli rounds,” Paddon said at the end of the event.

“I am also being realistic that it is a completely different kettle of fish overseas but that is now the target which I believe with a little more time and experience we can do.”

Alister McRae bounced back from a challenging start to the season to claim second for Proton, while wildcard entries Dean Sumner and Sloan Cox both secured fine results in their Subaru Imprezas to finish third and fourth of the APRC runners.

There was more disappointment for Proton’s Chris Atkinson, who retired with a broken alternator belt on day one, while points leader Katsu Taguchi also suffered major engine problems, but recovered to finish sixth and salvage some points for the title race.

Championship Standings (after 3 rounds)

1 Katsu Taguchi, 82pts
2 Gaurav Gill, 60
3 Hayden Paddon, 39
4 Alister McRae, 36
5 Rifat Sungkar, 30
6 Hiroshi Yanagisawa, 26
7 Dean Sumner, 20
8 Yuya Sumiyama, 16
9 Chris Atkinson, 15
10 Sloan Cox, 14

Next round: 31 July / 1 August, International Rally of Queensland, Australia

Watch FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship highlights on Motors TV.


Andy Wilkinson

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