Panel beaters aside, few in the motoring world will have been left smiling after snow hit Dunedin earlier this week, leading to a spate of generally predictable, quite avoidable crashes and smashes on our city’s streets. Dunedin’s hilly terrain does make driving in such conditions challenging, which is why the best advice is simply “don’t”. Despite this, even when the delay non-essential travel message is sent out (as it was this time), there seem to be far more vehicles out-and-about than there should be, many driven by folk who have a fair degree of ignorance about how to tackle driving in seriously icy conditions. I suspect one of the issues these days is that SUVs increasingly dominate our vehicle fleet, and being behind the wheel of such a vehicle gives some owners a misplaced sense of confidence when venturing out in adverse conditions. There are likely some owners who don’t realise their particular lifestyle SUV might not even be a four-wheel-drive, while others who do have a genuine four-wheel-drive SUV are inexperienced in four-wheel-drive use, and almost certainly don’t fully understand the situations in which it isn’t necessarily a big help. To be clear, the greatest traction advantages of four-wheel-drive are delivered when driving uphill, or on the flat, under power. Yet most of the accidents that occurred last week involved downhill dramas, typically culminating in a vehicle that had lost grip being pulled down a hill by the force of gravity until something — usually whatever it hit — halted progress. When creeping downhill on a treacherous surface, an advanced four-wheel-drive system can add value, most notably in enabling engine braking to be spread across all four wheels. This, in turn, reduces the chance of needing to apply the brakes, and so induce a braking-induced downhill slide, which has a fair chance of ending in disaster. But you need to know what you are doing and drive in particular ways to unlock that value in full. As good, or perhaps even better yet, an advanced hill descent control system allows much of this downhill traction management to be managed automatically. But one needs to remember firstly to engage such a system if fitted, and drive in a particular way to realise its maximum benefit. Other features such as anti-lock brakes and stability control systems, which most would assume are always going to be a help, can actually help or hinder depending on the situation. Ultimately, any system will run up against grip — dependent most of all on tyres — and its interaction with gravity. Anyone who remembers their secondary school physics may recall that gravitational pull is related to the weight of an object. So a larger, heavier vehicle such as an SUV is subject to more force seeking to pull it downwards, and so needs more grip to resist that force. Anyhow, the laws of physics as outlined above were well in play at the start of the week, and the best that might be said about the mayhem that ensued is that it almost all unfolded at slow speeds, and so injuries were relatively few and far between. One driver I know is especially well versed in the rules of physics as they relate to driving on slippery surfaces (though at far higher speeds) is Hayden Paddon. In what has been an otherwise quiet week or two for news of Kiwis on the international motor sport stage, the announcement that he and co-driver John Kennard will contest the upcoming Rally del Paraguay for the Hyundai WRC team has been a natural highlight. When Paddon’s return to the WRC on a part-time basis was announced for 2026, it was a source of some bemusement to many of us that Hyundai’s initial three-event contract had him driving only on tarmac, his less favoured surface. The hope was always that, were he to acquit himself well on those tarmac events (as he has done), one or more gravel rallies might be added to his programme with the WRC team. And so it has come to pass, with Paddon joining Hyundai team regulars Thierry Neuville (Belgium) and Adrien Fourmaux (France) on the August 27-30 Paraguay event. It will be the Paddon’s first gravel WRC event in a top-flight car since 2018. I am hopeful that Paddon and Kennard also get the nod to turn out for the following WRC round, Rally Chile, which is a couple of weekends later. After Chile, the WRC is scheduled to round out with events on Sardinia (October) and in Saudi Arabia (November), though there is a fair chance the latter will not go ahead due to the situation in the Middle East. Closer to home, next weekend sees the Deep South Rallysprint series continue, with the South Otago Car Club running the Catlins Rallysprint. This is a double-header event, with Saturday’s action taking place on Puaho Rd, near Papatowai, and Sunday’s using Cannibal Bay Rd, near Kaka Point. Dunedin’s Emma Gilmour (Citroen C3) currently leads the Deep South series after the opening two rounds from Gore driver Andrew Graves (Mitsubishi Lancer) and Mosgiel-based Jake Thomas, who also heads the 1301-1600cc class standings in his Toyota Corolla. The following weekend (August 22-23), national rallying attention will shift to Hawke’s Bay, where the first of the three North Island rounds of the series will be held. While the championship focus is the tight scrap between the two Jacks (Hawkeswood and Stokes) for the series lead, Hayden Paddon will be the favourite for outright honours; contesting the Hawke’s Bay event in his own Hyundai i20 Rally2 is excellent preparation for Paraguay the following weekend. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectShane Van Gisbergen races in the NASCAR Toyota / Save Mart 350 series race at Sonoma Raceway, Claifornia in late June. Photo: Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images / Reuters Further afield, the Indycar and Nascar championships resume this weekend with rounds in Portland, Oregon and Iowa Speedway respectively. I am keeping a particular eye on Nascar, with Shane van Gisbergen currently 15th in the standings. He needs to remain in the top 16 in four races time to make the cut to qualify for the Chase, this being the extra 10 races that which follows the end of the regular season. David Thomson Editor Drivesouth
