Heading into the first of two brand new events on the 2024 ERC calendar, Kiwis Hayden Paddon and John Kennard held a 14 point lead at the head of the championship points log. Remarkably, the defending ERC Champions had a third place finish as their best result this year, something they aimed to put to rights in Wales.
And put right they did on the opening day. Two short spectator stages on the Aberystwyth promenade on Friday saw Paddon lay down an immediate marker, his Hyundai i20 N set up just the way he likes it.
Saturday was much of the same, going on to win every stage bar one and end the longest day of the rally on Saturday with a huge lead of 1:18.7 over Chris Ingram, the 2019 ERC Champion, and co-driver Alexander Kihurani who had their Toyota GR Yaris.
In championship terms, Mathieu Franceschi and co-driver Andy Malfoy started slowly, languishing in 7th overall after the first loop of three stages. The Skoda crew came alive after the service break, when conditions were more predictable, jumping to fifth after the first afternoon stage and was up into fourth before the two spectator stages in Aberystwyth, only 2.2 seconds off the podium.
He relegated the third title rival Miko Markzyk/Szymon Gospodarczyk to fourth but the gaps were tiny after 127km of tough tarmac racing, 2.4 seconds separating the two Skoda drivers.
Half a second behind, Irish pair Keith Cronin and Mike Galvin were the highest Ford Fiesta crew after a great run, heading ERC regulars Andrea Mabellini/Virginia Lenzi by 2.9 seconds.
Simone Tempestini retired his VW Polo GTi in stage eight after running wide and hitting something solid hidden in the grass, damaging the VW’s right rear suspension.
Tomorrow’s action consists of four stages totaling 57km.
