Motorsport: Paddon lies ninth in Germany after turbo problems

The Kiwi rally pair's goal for the German event is to learn and gain valuable experience on tarmac. Photo / Vettas Media

Kiwi rally pairing Hayden Paddon and John Kennard reached the end of the second day at their first tarmac rally of the season, ADAC Rallye Deutschland, in ninth place overall.

Their goal for the German event is to learn and gain valuable experience on tarmac. They finished day one in eighth place overall.

Yesterday they were stymied by a turbo-related problem which slowed the Kiwis on all stages of the event's longest day.

"It's been a difficult afternoon," Paddon said after completing nine stages ahead of the rally's final day.

"Unfortunately we've had some small issues with the turbo which cost us a bit of power and unfortunately cost us a lot of time. Nevertheless, we've been able to hold our position in the top 10.

"The boys will able to fix the problem tonight and we'll come out tomorrow to try and show a lot more competitive times which I know we can do.

"Tomorrow's another day, and we're looking forward to it."

Paddon's teammates Dani Sordo and Thierry Neuville are in fourth and fifth places respectively, and are involved in a tight battle as they both look to secure top-five finishes and vital WRC manufacturer's points.

The team's fourth driver, Kevin Abbring, continues to benefit from valuable learning and is also hoping for a top-10 finish.

Sebastien Ogier leads Volkswagen teammate Jari-Matti Latvala by 33.8 seconds.

Ogier, the two-time defending world champion, began the day 9.5 seconds ahead of his Finnish teammate but he won the first 45.61km Panzerplatte stage on tracks normally used for tank training, as well as the two sprints beforehand, to go 18.5 seconds clear.

The Frenchman finished the second long Panzerplatte stage 15.3 seconds ahead of Latvala and claimed nine of the day's stages to his teammate's three.

With four stages remaining today, Ogier - who has five victories this season - is aiming for his second Rally of Germany victory after winning in 2011.

Another Volkswagen driver, Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway, was 1 minute, 47.5 seconds behind in third position.