Kiwi rally ace Hayden Paddon will look to finish a tough year on a high today as he takes a lead of nearly five minutes into the second day of Rally New Zealand.
The Hyundai WRC factory driver tore up the six stages around the Raglan area yesterday – posting fastest times in each stage and setting record times despite being the first car on the road and having to sweep the thick layer of gravel off the racing line.
He backed up a strong showing in the WRC season-ending event in Australia last weekend, where he secured a podium finish, with a mighty day on some of the most challenging roads on the planet.
"Mega day out on some of the best stages in the world - clean sweep of stage wins and records," he said. "Car and team all going well and looking forward to more of the same tomorrow.
"The car is good.
"We are just here to have some fun and keep an eye on the fight behind us."
The fight is certainly on in what has become a two-horse field for the New Zealand Rally Championship.
A new winner is all but guaranteed with veteran Andrew Hawkeswood holding a narrow 15.6s advantage over Canterbury's Matt Summerfield.
Hawkeswood holds an 11-point championship buffer over the Subaru driver.
Six stages await drivers on Sunday with three tests around Rotorua in the morning loop and repeated again in the afternoon.