Hayden Paddon's team has been hard at work in their Cromwell workshop converting his Hyundai i20AP4 from rally to hill climb specification for this weekend’s Ashley Forest Rallysprint.
They have installed a purpose-built 2.4L engine and new systems to run it. The aero package has also been further refined for more downforce.
Paddon says driving the beefed-up car is ‘‘unbelievable’’.
‘‘So much power and down force, it’s the biggest adrenaline rush, especially on such a road [Ashley Forest’s 1.6km loop] that despite being short is challenging.
You have to take a deep breath at the start and just send it,’’ he said.
Winning is high on his priority list after mechanical problems robbed him of victory the previous two years.
‘‘We have some huge unfinished business and the team have been working incredibly hard to make it third time lucky. It’s a huge team effort and as it’s such an engineering challenge, they all really love the weekend.’’
- Catherine Pattison
Photo: Supplied
