Motorsport: Paddon switches to Subaru

New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Rising New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon believes a switch to Subaru will bring him closer to his dream of winning a world rally championship title.

Paddon made his mark behind the steering wheel of a Mitsubishi when finishing third on debut in last year's Production World Rally Championship (PWRC) - a feeder series to the world rally championship.

After establishing Hayden Paddon Rallysport Global Ltd, the Geraldine driver then formed the New Zealand World Rally Team to compete in this year's PWRC.

"While it's no secret that we wanted to get back overseas and win the PWRC title this year, what may surprise many is our switch of cars to form a partnership with Subaru," Paddon said.

"Last year's opportunities with the Pirelli Star Driver programme were amazing, and to follow that up by being able to put our own global programme together is fantastic.

"We were offered an opportunity to run with Ralliart Italy again this year in a Mitsubishi, but after being approached by a Subaru representative, we decided to make the change as we feel that there are greater future possibilities with Subaru. "

Belgian team, Symtech Racing will prepare Paddon's car.

Symtech, based in Grobbendonk, won the 2004 PWRC title with Irish driver Niall McShea AND is well known for its expertise building and running cars to international Group N (or production car) regulations.

"This is our first time dealing with Symtech, the team are really enthusiastic about working with us," Paddon said.

"They are every bit as motivated to win the production championship as we are. All the ingredients are there for it to be a successful relationship and we are confident that the car will be very competitive."

Paddon said he will will have a comprehensive two-day test with Symtech before the season got underway at Rally Portugal at the end of March.

Paddon and Blenheim co-driver John Kennard acknowledge that their 2011 campaign will be their biggest test as a driver pairing yet as they tackle six events around the world against strong competition.

"The competition is looking a lot stronger this year," notes Paddon.

"As we found out last year, there is simply no room for error at this level. Where we had three or four teams fighting for victory last year, I feel the number of potential victors will double this year. This is great for the championship and also means that we have to work even harder to make our goal of winning the championship a reality."

Paddon has nominated the Rally de Portugal (March 24-27), Rally Argentina (May 26-29), Rally Finland (July 28-31), Rally Australia (September 8-11), Rally de Espana (October 20-23) and Wales Rally GB (November 10-13) as his six PWRC championship events.

- NZPA