Hayden Paddon sets sights on conquering tarmac in WRC

(Photosport)
(Photosport)

Hayden Paddon has second place in the World Rally Championship within his reach, but he'll first have to pull out the results on tarmac.

Sebastien Ogier (169pts) has zipped away at the top of the WRC standings, but for Paddon, a second placed finished in his first full season would be an impressive result.

Paddon currently sits third equal in the standings with Thierry Neuville on 94 points.

The pair are 16 points behind Andreas Mikkelsen, but it could be Paddon's team mate Neuville who threatens the Norwegian as they prepare for Rally Corsica at the end of the month.

Neuville is a tarmac specialist, while Paddon is still fighting his feet, or wheels in this case, on the sealed surface.

"For me it's like I'm having to put the training wheels back on and start again," Paddon said.

"When you're at the elite level of sport you're not patient enough to put the time into it.

"You want to be winning straight away."

After a poor start, Paddon salvaged a fifth place in Germany, but knows he must step up if he wants to finish second.

"I think we can be a lot more competitive than Germany, I certainly hope so because coming away from Germany the result was okay, but the performance was sub par."

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