Paddon improves at Rally Poland
New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon has improved four places to sit seventh after three days of WRC Rally Poland.
He lies 4min 10sec behind leader and world champion Sebastien Ogier, who leads Volkswagen team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen by just over a minute.
Paddon and co-driver John Kennard took a steady approach to a long day of 10 special stages in their second WRC event with the Hyundai Shell World Rally Team.
He said it had been a trying day, but there were plenty of positives to take out of it.
"This morning was difficult being third on the road, we were doing a bit of sweeping. It was quite slippery and the times weren't quite where we wanted them to be."
Paddon said he tweaked his driving style in the afternoon, and the car's pace showed definite improvement.
"We learnt where we were losing time and maybe have been overdriving the car a little bit, so this afternoon it's all been about slow entry and trying to get a fast exit and the times have improved."
While he was confident on the smoother roads, Paddon said he was still struggling with handling the ruts in the rougher stages.
"I have to learn how to drive in these conditions, but that's part of our objective for these rallies."
The challenge in Rally Poland's fourth and final day on Monday (NZT) is to build on the lessons of the past days, he said.
Paddon and Kennard's next event is on August 1-3 at Rally Finland.
