Motorsport: Paddon joins top names in RNZ win

Hayden Paddon. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Class will always out and Hayden Paddon now has his name on the Rally New Zealand trophy alongside the likes of Sebastien Loeb, Marcus Gronholm, Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae. It's been 30 years since a Kiwi had his name on this particular piece of silverware as RNZ is normally part of the World Rally Championship.

Without the big boys of the WRC here to play (they return in 2012), it was Paddon who showed his pedigree by taking his home event in style by a comfortable 2m 26s from Richard Mason and a further 1m 13s up on Emma Gilmour.

"Winning the trophy hasn't really sunk in yet. I'm pretty amazed as Colin McRae was an idol of mine and my name on the same trophy as him is something I'll remember for a long time," said Paddon.

Taking a 2m 17s lead over Richard Mason into day two, it was Paddon's race to lose. He set his stall out by winning the opening two stages on day two and then settled into a watching game for the rest of the day.

"It's been a perfect weekend for the team and now we just have to concentrate on Argentina. It wasn't easy as Richard [Mason] was going really quick. We've gained a lot out of the two rounds and it all helps with the car setup for Argentina," said Paddon.

When the field pulled into servicing at the end of day one Paddon had a commanding 2m 17s lead over Mason who was a further 10.4s ahead of Gilmour.

As top seed for the event, Paddon was first away on Saturday. "After heavy overnight rain, the roads had become a little softer and being first on the road was certainly not a bad place to be.

"The damp conditions however surprisingly had a lot of grip to offer," said Paddon.

The Geraldine driver took the opening 32.3km Te Akau stage from former New Zealand rally champion Chris West and with each successive stage, Paddon, a two-time New Zealand rally champion, added to his leading margin, winning six of the day's eight stages.

Mason, Gilmour, West and defending national champion Dean Sumner hammered away at each other and it was Gilmour who held second place until the day's final super special stage. A fuel surge, however, meant the Subaru driver lost some time and allowed Mason to take the runner-up position.

Saturday's action also involved competitors in the Smartwood by Alpwood Possum Bourne Memorial Rally and it was Kingsley Jones running strongly all day to win the trophy.