Hayden Paddon remains firmly in contention at Rally di Roma Capitale after the first full day of action, sitting fifth and just 7.9 seconds off the lead.
Less than 20 seconds separate the top seven drivers after seven of the 13 special stages, with local hope Andrea Crugnola heading the time sheets.
Romania’s Simone Tempestini sits second, 0.7 seconds in arrears, 4.2 seconds to the good of Mathieu Franceschi, who is second in the European Rally Championship standings, behind only Paddon.
The Kiwi, competing in his 200th event this weekend, is three seconds behind his closest title rival, with local Simone Campedelli splitting the pair in fourth.
“I can’t make this car go any faster at the moment,” Paddon said after SS7. “We’re doing the best we can, and we left nothing on the table today.”
Taking to social media after the day’s action, Paddon added, “Been a good day at Rally Rome, and while ending P5 may not sound great, we are less than 8 seconds from the lead, which illustrates how close it is.
“We have certainly been trying today and can be proud of that, but we need to try and find something tomorrow to put up a fight. Will be giving it our all!”
Paddon remained sixth, where he finished SSS1 on Saturday, after SS2, dropping only 2.6 seconds on the first run of the 6.96 km Alatri.
After the first pass over the day’s longest stage, the 28.74 km Santopadre Liri, he jumped to third overall, 6.9 seconds adrift of early leader Crugnola.
Fourth place on Altipiani (11.58 km) left Paddon tied for third with Campedelli halfway through the day.
After the second pass on Alatri, he returned to outright third but was jumped by Franceschi for the position on SS6 at Fontara Liri. Tempestini put over 11 seconds on Crugnola on SS6 to take the overall lead ahead of the day’s final run.
Order was restored at Altipiani, with Crugnola finishing the stage fourth and taking the overnight lead by a slender 0.7s.
Campedelli topped the final run to pip Paddon for fourth. The Kiwi also lost 1.5 seconds to Franceschi over the stage.
Sunday’s action begins at 5.50 pm NZST, with two passes over Fiuggi (5.9 km), Rocca di Cave—Subiaco (32.3 km), and Monastero-Jenne (8.63 km) concluding Rally di Roma Capitale.
The final run on Monastero-Jenne is the event’s Power Stage, putting extra ERC points up for grabs.
Rally di Roma Capitale can be watched with a paid subscription on rally.tv or followed through live updates on the European Rally Championship website.
Header Image: European Rally Championship.
