Thursday, April 26, 2012

April 26th 2012

Hi,

Everything has been going well back at home in South Canterbury and it has been good to catch up with a lot of people. It has also given us a chance to continue working on our funding plans for the rest of the season.

Over the coming days we have a couple of busy days in Auckland for some media commitments. You will be able to watch and listen to some of our interviews, live on Deaker on Sport thanks to PlaceMakers Wednesday night from 7.30pm. Then on Thursday after several radio interviews, you will be able to see us on TV1 sports news at 6pm and the Crowd Goes Wild.

We may also have some good news in the next week regarding an additional event that we may be doing before Rally New Zealand. While it is good to be home, the two and a half month break between SWRC rounds is not so ideal with not a lot of time in the seat, so an event in between would help our preparations for Brother Rally New Zealand a lot.

This weekend will be a busy weekend of rallying (although not so much for us) with the next round of the WRC in Argentina and our own New Zealand Rally Championship round in Wairarapa. We will be following the results closely.

A huge thanks to everyone that is also supporting is via our Facebook page, having recently ticked over the 17,000 followers mark. If you would also like to follow us on Facebook visit www.facebook.com/haydenpaddonwrc


March 28th 2012

Hi,

Our preparations for Rally Portugal are going well after a good 2 days of recce. While 2/3 of the route is the same as last year, Friday’s new stages certainly serve up a challenge. They are more technical and quite rough in places with a lot of large rocks littering the road.

It will be the same for everyone and we have a plan for the rally that we will try and follow. We have a good set of pace notes though and I am really looking forward to getting started.

Tomorrow is a quieter day with just Shakedown, while the rally starts on Thursday with the super special stage in Lisbon before 3 night stages that evening.

You can keep up to date with results at www.wrc.com or keep updated on our progress at www.haydenpaddon.com or www.facebook.com/haydenpaddonwrc.

Will keep you posted,

Hayden

March 26th 2012

Hi,

All is well here in Portugal as we make the final preparations for next weeks rally. We recently completed a successful 2 day test in the south of Spain on a gravel stage that represented the characteristics of a typical Portuguese stage. You can see the following link to see video footage from the test:

The test itself was very successful. It was good to back on gravel – a surface where I know what I want our car to do. We also used the test as a general information gathering process to learn what different parts and set-up to do to the car, right or wrong. Over the two days we had a mixture of wet and dry conditions which was good for us as it allowed us to find the different set-ups that work in different conditions. Quite different to Group N where you would find an optimum set-up and fine tune accordingly. The Skoda S2000 car is very sensitive to changes and between wet and dry conditions, a quite different set-up is required.

We are confident following our test that we will have a fast car for Portugal which combined with the new upgraded latest specification engine that we now have, we are feeling good. Of course it will be a big battle, but it is good to come back to an event that we have experience on and enjoy.

Our photo competition is also nearing an end on our facebook page. We have selected two finalists whose photos have been posted on our page. The photo with the most likes by Tuesday 27 March, 10am (NZT) will win a free tour with our team to Brother Rally of New Zealand. Remember you can also buy your own seats to join us at Rally of New Zealand or Rally Spain. See our website for more details.

That's all for now. We now have two days of recce ahead of us on Monday and Tuesday before Shakedown on Wednesday and the rally start on Thursday. We will keep you posted throughout the week.

Thanks,

Hayden

March 9th 2012

Hello

Just a quick note to say that we have a competition running for a chance to win a place on our NZ World Rally Team Rally NZ Tour, in Auckland on the 20th – 25th June (valued at $1399). We are looking for a passionate NZWRT fan or team mascot dressed up in their most creative attire, in which they would wear to support the team in our quest at Rally NZ. All you have to do is submit a photo displaying this to competition@paddonrallysport.co.nz by Friday 16th March before 12pm, with your name and contact details. The top 10 most original and creative photos will be picked by judges then uploaded to Facebook. On 23rd March at 12am the photo with the most "likes" wins a place on the NZWRT Tour. The runner up receives clothing from our new 2012 merchandise range, soon to be released (please note –entrants must be 18 years or over. Prize excludes flights and is only valid for one person).

We look forward to getting your photos.

We will keep you posted

Hayden

March 4th 2012

Hi,

Just a quick update, to let you know that we had a very enjoyable and successful day today in Italy as we won the rally. Behind us were WRC, Super 2000 and Group N cars with a field of 84 teams starting the event. It was not without drama as we had to complete one stage on 3 cylinders, but other than that we had a trouble free run and started to get more and more used to the car as the day progressed - particularly the last stage. A big thanks to the HRT Motorsport team who did a great job and it was an honor to have Fabrizia Pons in the car who did a great job and also really enjoyed the day.

The organisers also did a great job of the event and everyone has made us feel more than welcome.

It has been great to get back onto the gravel and it is a really good shakedown for us in preparation for Rally Portugal. We will be back here in Italy in another 2 weeks to compete in a similar type national rally.

In the meantime keep an eye out on our facebook page as we will be releasing a new competition within the next 24 hours where a free rally tour with our team to Rally New Zealand will be won (to the value of $1,399 NZD). www.facebook.com/haydenpaddonwrc

Thanks everyone,

Hayden

February 13th 2012

Hi,

We have finished Rally Sweden after 3 days of flat out rallying on snow/ice covered roads. We ended up 4th SWRC which with all considered is not a bad result and good points on the board to start our season.

Todays 6 stages went smoothly without any dramas and between each stage we continued to try new things with the car set-up to continue the learning process. We have still been struggling to find what exactly works with the car on this surface but we have learn't a lot about both the car and the rally this weekend.

Naturally 4th is not what we wanted this weekend but there are still a lot of positives to take from the weekend. I am now very determined that once we get back to our favoured surface of gravel for our next event in Portugal that we will have a different and more competitive package which will involve a lot of hard work and homework over the next 5 weeks.

You can see the below link to today's video blog along with some in-car footage:

A huge thanks to the ASM Motorsport team for their efforts over the weekend and John who did a great job as always in the co-drivers seat. Also a huge thanks to Katie who has had some very long nights putting together these videos and media updates to keep you all posted. It was also great to have Dad and our good friend Math here this weekend providing some support from New Zealand.

Now the hard work begins as we build up to Rally Portugal. We will keep you posted.

Thanks, Hayden

February 12th 2012

Hi,

We have finished day 2 of rally Sweden and have now climbed up the leader board to 4th in SWRC. Today we have had no problems and it has been a matter of getting more stage mileage to get more comfortable and confident in the car.

With every passing km I am getting more of a feeling for the car and snow and I am now starting to understand why the car is not working the way I want it to. Unlike a Group N car there are many different variables that can be changed on the car set-up and as Im still learning what the car is capable of- we have not yet got the right set-up. The biggest problem has been getting the front of the car to respond to steering input, particularly on entry and mid corner. We have been making many changes throughout the day to both try and improve the car and to learn how each change affects the car.

Tomorrow will be about getting to the finish and picking up some valuable points after a trying rally. We have again made more roll bar and spring changes tonight to seek some more improvement tomorrow. You can see our video blog from today here:

Also as the whole team only found out tonight, we wish my co-driver John Kennard best birthday wishes. He did a good job keeping it quiet all day!

Will keep you posted tomorrow, Thanks

Hayden
 
February 11th 2012

Hi,

Today has been a tough day at the office here on the opening day of Rally Sweden. The day started with the longest stage of the rally at 27km which went OK as we started to get into the groove of the new car and new conditions.

However we came unstuck by the tricky conditions on the second stage when the rear of the car snapped sideways through a corner, running wide into a snow bank which then sucked the whole car in. We were stuck but thanks to the help of the local spectators we were able to get back on the road – but after 8 minutes of digging! This time loss has hindered our chances for a good result this weekend. A puncture in the afternoon further worsened the situation.

I have certainly underestimated the challenges of our first rally in a S2000 car and first rally on snow. I have been struggling to feel at one with the car and things inside the car have not being happening naturally like they normally do. Of course this will come but it will take a little time, which is why completing each stage of this rally is crucial to being able to get as many miles as possible.

We are currently sitting 6th in PWRC and am looking to try and get 1 or 2 places back up the leader board before the end of the event. Tomorrow will be tricky although on traditional Swedish stages where there is little snow and no snow banks.

Or photos on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/haydenpaddonwrc

Thanks, we will keep you posted tomorrow.

Hayden

February 7th 2012

Hi,

Everything is going well here in Sweden in preparation for this weekend's rally. I first went to Finland last Thursday where we were greeted with -30 degree winter conditions and heavy snow. Quite a shock after flying from Spain!

There we spent a day near Ari Vatanens home town of Tuupovaara on a rally road that was built to celebrate his 1981 world championship. During the day I got my first test of driving on snow with a group N car. I was able to get a good understanding of the grip levels and the special characteristics as well as things to be prepared for during a winter/snow rally. With the 300 odd metal studs in each tyre the grip levels are very similar to gravel although the car does slide around a little more as you can expect. But it is very enjoyable!

From Finland we flew to Norway over the weekend where we met up with our ASM Motorsport team. We were able to complete a successful test on Sunday/Monday in Norway in changing conditions, from day to night, heavy snow to ice and gravel. During the test we learn't a lot more about our Skoda S2000 and was able to try many different set-ups to learn what does and doesn't work on the car. The end result is a start set-up for Rally Sweden that I am feeling very comfortable with.

You can also see photos of our new Skoda in its full ‘New Zealand’ theme at www.facebook.com/haydenpaddonwrc.

Now we have two days of recce ahead where as always it will be vital that we write some good pace notes on what are all new roads to us. However, the nature of the roads is very similar to that of neighbouring country Finland, fast, flowing and lots of crests, but all covered in a lot of snow.

We will keep you updated throughout the week in our build up to the event and where you will be able to keep an eye on the results.

Thanks very much,

Hayden

January 25th 2012

Hi,

Everything has been going well here in Spain as we settle into our new environment and new team. After arriving 1 week ago we have met the team, seen our car for the first time and learnt the general lay of the land. All is looking very exciting for the year and our team, ASM Motorsport, are all very enthusiastic about the project.

We have recently confirmed our 2012 livery design thanks to the help of Kieran from Granger Design which looks great. Combined with our new drivers overalls from Chicane and team clothing from Brita Safety our team will certainly look good this year.

This week we will get our first taste of our new car when we do a small gravel test here in Spain on Friday. This test will be to learn the basics of the car before going to Norway where we will have our snow test in preparation for Rally Sweden. I am really looking forward to it!

In the coming days you will see information sent to you regarding our rally tours that we will be running this year alongside our team as we compete in WRC events. This year we will be doing NZWRT tours in New Zealand and Spain. Full information will be released soon.

Last weekend we also drove up to Monte Carlo to watch round 1 of the World Rally Championship. While we were only there for one day it was great to see the good vibe and many people around the service park despite what has been happening around the sport lately.

A lot of hard work continues on trying to secure the budget for this season which is by no means an easy task. I would like to however sincerely thank our current partners that we have confirmed for our 2012 season including Giltrap Group, PlaceMakers, Castrol, Raiseys Nutrition, Cameron Sea and Air Freight, Granger Design, Endless Brakes, Chicane Racewear, Brita Safety, Racetech Seats, Monit and New Balance.

That’s all for now, we will keep you posted following my first drive in our Skoda later this week. Until then,

Hayden

December 22nd 2011

Hi,

I am excited to announce that we have entered the 2012 SWRC driving a Skoda Fabia S2000 car run by Spanish team, ASM Motorsport.

The SWRC is the pinnacle support championship and is the main feeder class into the WRC. The S2000 cars are also a step up being very similar to a WRC car but without the turbo and aero package. I was lucky to test drive a Skoda S2000 car a couple of months ago and they are certainly a very nice car to drive. The difference between S2000 and Group N, which we were driving this year, is between 1-2 seconds per km, which in rallying terms is quite considerable.

Our calendar will include Sweden, Portugal, New Zealand, Finland, GB, France and Spain. The same rules apply as the PWRC where you must drop one round and we have chosen to miss the first round in Monte Carlo, meaning we start in the snow of Sweden in early February. Our testing program will begin in late January in Spain which where we will also base ourselves for part of the year.

It is very exciting times for us and despite the added challenges of learning a different car and stronger competition, our aim will be to win the championship. On the topic of competition, the main bench mark for all of us in the SWRC will be VW’s new signing Sebastian Ogier who will be driving a similar Skoda S2000 car in all rounds of the 2012 WRC. While he will undoubtedly be very fast it will help us lift our game to another level and give us a good target to aim for.

We are also excited to announce a new partnership with the Giltrap Group who have been fanatical supporters of NZ motorsport for a long time and are also the local Skoda importers in New Zealand. We also welcome new partner New Balance. We are also pleased to confirm the continuation of our partnership with PlaceMakers who we have really enjoyed our first term together with.

A little like last year we will have to continue trying to put the budget together as the year progresses. If anyone knows of anyone that is interested in becoming a shareholder or a partner to our team, please get in touch, chris@paddon.co.nz. We are open to any ideas or suggestions.

A huge thank you to everyone that has helped to make this happen particularly our directors of HPRG, Peter Anderson, Peter Swaney, Steve Lyttle and Dad. Also Katie, Kate Gordan, Gavin Findlay and Mark from 1 Group have been putting in a lot of work in the background.

OUR NEW WEBSITE HAS BEEN LAUNCHED, CHECK IT OUT – www.haydenpaddon.com

Keep an eye out tonight on NZ national TV sports news for further reports or you can see our website or facebook page for further information and full news stories. www.facebook.com/haydenpaddonwrc.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN 2011 AND I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING AN EXCITING 2012 SEASON WITH YOU. I WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILIES A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Bring on the 2012 season. Until then,

Hayden