After Friday’s spectator stages, New Zealand’s Hyundai driver Paddon was already in the lead, and his pace didn’t slow down during Saturday morning’s loop. Paddon leads the asphalt rally by over half a minute after five stages, ahead of Britain’s Chris Ingram, who is driving a Toyota. Paddon has set the fastest time on four out of the five stages.
“I’m very happy. I was really nervous before the first stage this morning because the car still feels like an alien to me. Paddon is in a league of his own, but we need to focus on our own performance and keep improving,” Ingram said.
In third place is Meirion Evans, also driving a Toyota like Ingram, who trails the leader Paddon by 36.8 seconds. In fourth place is Irishman Callum Devine, followed by Briton Osian Pryce.
Paddon currently leads the ERC standings by 14 points over Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi. The Skoda driver is seventh in the competition, so the situation looks very promising for Paddon. The New Zealander has not yet won an ERC rally this season. Paddon also won the European Championship last season.
Poland’s Miko Marczyk, who is third in the ERC standings, is only in 11th place in Wales, meaning his chances for the ERC title now heavily depend on the misfortune of others.
There are five more stages to be run in Wales on Saturday. The rally concludes on Sunday with four final stages.
ERC Wales standings after SS5/14:
| POS. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hayden Paddon | Hyundai | 33:58.1 |
| 2. | Chris Ingram | Toyota | +31.9 |
| 3. | Meirion Evans | Toyota | +36.8 |
| 4. | Callum Devine | Skoda | +41.3 |
| 5. | Osian Pryce | Ford | +44.0 |
| 6. | Simone Tempestini | VW | +47.3 |
| 7. | Mathieu Franceschi | Skoda | +49.6 |
| 8. | Keith Cronin | Ford | +50.6 |
| 9. | Philip Allen | Skoda | +52,9 |
| 10. | Andrea Mabellini | Skoda | +58.1 |
| 11. | Miko Marczyk | Skoda | +1:00.4 |
