Kiwi crew take sixth from tightly fought weekend

Hayden Paddon maintained his lead in the FIA European Rally Championship after a closely fought fifth round of the season at Rally di Roma Capitale (July 26-28).

The Kiwi and co-driver John Kennard avoided any issues on the tarmac rally and were part of a tightly packed lead group. The BRC Racing Team due ran as high as fourth overall but reach the end of the first full day of action holding fifth place – albeit still less than ten seconds away from the overall lead.

Paddon and Kennard continued to push through Sunday’s six stages but were unable to prevent themselves slipping back to sixth during the morning’s running as temperatures soared to around 40 degrees – presenting yet another challenge to the crews already taking on the technical hillside roads. The i20 N Rally2 crew finished sixth in the final standings as well as taking a single bonus point for fifth fastest on the Power Stage.

With their nearest rivals finishing one spot ahead in both the overall classification and the times on the final test, Paddon and Kennard left Italy with their lead trimmed to just seven points with three rounds of the 2024 season left to run.