Kiwi Hayden Paddon has completed a messy opening stage of Rally Sweden - posting the 11th fastest time in his Hyundai i20.
The 29-year-old New Zealander clipped a tyre bundle and looked a little erratic in the short opening test.
It will have little impact on the overall rally however- he was just 3.2s behind stage winner Jari-Matti Latvala over the short 1.9km stadium-style course.
"Just messy," Paddon said. "I got caught out a couple of times on the ice.
Paddon will look to bounce back from a crash in the season-opening event in Monte Carlo and try to repeat his stunning performance on the snow surface last year when he finished second.
Earlier in the day the New Zealander posted an impressive third fastest time in the pre-event shakedown.
Is it.. it really is! Our first Stage Win! Great job @JariMattiWRC! Now we can hold the horses a bit.. over night at least #RallySweden#wrc
Latvala backed up an impressive debut with the returning Toyota team at Monte Carlo to win the opening test in Sweden. It was the first stage win for Toyota since 1999.
