Motorsport: Paddon fifth in Mexico

Hayden Paddon during the Shakedown of the WRC Mexico. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi Hayden Paddon lies fifth heading into the final day of WRC Rally Mexico.
Citroen's Kris Meeke leads the rally by 30.9s from four-time world champion Sebastien Ogier's M-Sport Ford.

Factory Hyundai driver Paddon moved up a couple of spots today after engine trouble saw him fall to seventh at the end of the opening day.

Paddon featured prominently in the top five all day and heads into the short final day in a comfortable fifth - well ahead of sixth placed Jari-Matti Latvala.

"The team did a great job to fix the car after our engine misfire issues on Friday," Paddon said.

"It's never easy to respond to pressured situations but they did just that, and I have generally felt comfortable in the car. We had an issue towards the end of the morning loop, in El Brinco, where we slid wide on a right-handed just 2km from the end. We hit a rock that caused an instant puncture.

Patience has rewarded us with P5 so far but needing to find more. We have time to study things tonight & make some improvements for tomorrow pic.twitter.com/4SkcBv5tRF

— Hayden Paddon (@HaydenPaddon) March 12, 2017

"Apart from that, though, it's been a more positive day. Patience has rewarded us with fifth place so far but we need to find more speed. We have time to study things tonight and make some improvements for tomorrow."

Paddon's Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville is third and will be looking to close out a podium spot after coming unstuck whilst leading the first two rallies of the year.

M-Sport Ford's Ott Tanak is fifth.