Reigning European Rally champion Hayden Paddon has one hand back on the trophy ahead of the final day of competition in Poland.
Paddon has built a 6.8-second advantage over Andrea Mabellini and, more importantly, a 42.3-second buffer over title rival Mathieu Franceschi, over the opening eight stages of Rally Silesia, the eighth and final round of the 2024 ERC.
If the current positions remain unchanged, the reigning champion will take ERC title gold for the second year running with a margin of 35 points aboard his Pirelli-equipped Hyundai i20 N Rally2, with co-driver John Kennard by his side.
The 37-year-old has topped five of the tarmac rally’s eight stages, with just six stages remaining.
“Being clean and precise is probably the key,” he said.
“I think when you start pushing you start over-driving and losing time. Obviously, we’re carrying extra weight with the extra tyres, there’s more in it but we’re quite comfortable doing what we’re doing at the moment.”
While Paddon has excelled in southern Poland, Franceschi, who opted to go first on the road, struggled with handling issues, particularly during the morning loop when low ambient and ground temperatures made the low-grip stages even more precarious.
The Kiwi was third fastest in Friday’s Super Special, a 1.85km run through the city centre of Katowice, where a massive crowd lined the course.
He took the overall lead on SS2, the first pass of the 17.04km Jastrzebie Zdroj, and extended his advantage by a further 2.2 seconds on SS3, a 10.8km run on Ochaby.
Paddon dropped 2.4 seconds on SS4, the 19.78km pass of Gmina Jasienica but remained in the lead with a 1-second advantage over Mabellini midday.
This grew back to 6.6 seconds after Paddon topped the second passes of Jastrzebie Zdroj and Ochaby.
Mabellini made back 2.6 seconds on the second run of Gmina Jasienica, before Paddon went fastest on the 1.5 km Silesian Stadium super special stage to take a 6.8 second lead into the final day of competiton.
Rally Silesia returns for six final special stages beginning at 7.55 pm this evening. Coverage can be viewed live with a paid subscription to rally.tv.
Header Image: European Rally Championship
