Motorsport: Paddon poised to push R4 diehards

Hayden Paddon, in action at Rally Spain, is ready to prove himself in Wales. Photo / Honza Fronek

New Zealand's only rally world champion, Hayden Paddon, gets a chance this weekend to test his skills against drivers in another class at the last round of the World Rally Championships, Wales Rally GB.

The Geraldine-based driver clinched the Production World Rally Championship in Australia in September and this weekend has been given a chance to compete in the R4 category in a factory-backed Subaru. To add a bit of spice, the 24-year-old and co-driver John Kennard have only just got their hands on their new car, making for a challenge to get it race-ready.

Paddon will be secure in the knowledge he and Kennard have the skills to take it to the other drivers in the R4 class, having finished in the top 10 in their Group N car.

"We are going to push for a top 10 finish," Paddon said. "It will not be easy, but we will push hard. However, the main objective of the rally is to get an indication of the performance of the R4 as it is still in its early stages of development and, with more homologated parts being approved for next season, it has the potential to be even faster. It's also about getting some data and information from the event to help STI [Subaru Tecnica International], the motorsport arm of Japanese Subaru manufacturer Fuji Heavy Industries and Symtech Racing [Paddon's Belgium-based team] to continue developing the car."

That the factory is happy for Paddon to go and play bodes well for him.

"The working relationship between Hayden and the Symtech team is terrific, so we can have high hopes of a top performance in this year's final WRC event," said STI sporting manager George Donaldson, who has been managing a small programme of events for the Subaru Impreza R4.

"The Subaru is a reliable car and all the mechanicals such as engine, gearbox and diffs are out of our championship-winning PWRC car, which we know has been a proven package," Paddon said.

"It is going to be a matter of re-engineering the suspension geometry, which is quite a bit different between the Group N and R4 spec. But knowing that the rest is sorted, we can just focus on that."

The Subaru R4 is a development from the Group N production car that Paddon has driven this season.

Introduced by the FIA to allow two-litre turbocharged Group N cars to compete with existing Super 2000 machinery, the R4 Subaru is 150kg lighter than the Group N Subaru STI, and has more adjustable suspension with greater travel, and better geometry and handling.