New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard are staying focused on learning new stages and delivering the best result they can when they contest the Adelaide Hills Rally in their Hyundai i20 Rally 2 car this weekend.
It is the fifth and penultimate round of the Australian Rally Championship.
Paddon said despite leading their respective drivers’ and co-drivers’ championships by 71 points, he and Kennard would not be taking anything easy.
"We’ll push as hard as we can and try to deliver a good result," Paddon said.
"Until the last round, it’s all about collecting as many points as we can. No-one gets to put the championship hat on until the last rally."
Paddon has heard a lot of good things about the South Australian rally.
"The stages look a lot smoother and more flowing, similar to New Zealand. That’s where we are comfortable and should work well with our car.
"Like most events this year, many of the stages are the same for the local competitors, but we are enjoying the challenge of pushing ourselves on unfamiliar roads."
Hosted in the scenic Adelaide Hills regions around the town of Mt Barker, the rally comprises 18 stages and 160.5 competitive kilometres split across Saturday and Sunday.
Local crews have a couple of new stages to learn, while Paddon and Kennard will be competing on all stages for the first time.
The Adelaide Hills Rally is the only council/shire road-based event in the 2025 ARC calendar, the other events typically using forestry roads.
A rally show in Mt Barker tonight includes the ballot draw for the top three starting positions for tomorrow’s first leg. Paddon and Kennard are seeded No1.
Like the first three ARC events, this is a sprint round where points are available based on finishing position on each day.
Paddon leads the standings with 366 points, ahead of Lewis Bates (295) and Harry Bates (278).
The day’s winner earns 50 points and the fastest through the power stage on Sunday a bonus 10 points. — Allied Media
