European rally champion Hayden Paddon is looking forward to demonstrating his Hyundai i20WRC rally car at the Ashburton Car Club’s Street Sprint this weekend.
It was where it all started for him with the Ashburton Car Club, he said.
‘‘It will be a lot of fun showcasing the WRC car to many of the people that helped us to make the journey possible,’’ he said.
Paddon, 38, competed in his first car event with the club at aged 13.
He said it was at the Ashburton airport, and he was driving a mini.
‘‘The Ashburton Car Club was where I crafted my driving skills for the first few years and was a club that was so helpful.
‘‘So now to bring the WRC car back to Ashburton is a special full circle moment to share with the whole car club.’’
Car club president Wayne Muckle said Paddon’s high performance rally car was the only one of its kind in New Zealand and the street sprint. on around the Riverside Industrial Estate in Ashburton today and tomorrow, was a great opportunity to see it in action.
‘‘That’s pretty special … that’s the pinnacle of the sport,’’ Muckle said of the i20WRC.
‘‘He is going to be doing demo runs on Saturday and Sunday, which knowing Hayden will be pretty spectacular.
‘‘It’s the last chance to see that car this year doing anything in New Zealand. We’ve been told it’s not going to be out again.’’
Muckle said Paddon was no stranger to tarmac rally events and predicted his demonstration runs would be real crowd-pleasers.
‘‘He does special stages on tarmac, and he is the current European rally champion – he’s done that two years in a row – so he’s done tarmac rallying as well, so you can expect to see the WRC car considerably sideways, I’d imagine,’’ he said.
‘‘He’s a great showman with that sort of thing. He really turns it on.’’
Muckle said Paddon had requested attending the club’s annual street sprint and will be on-hand to meet the public.
‘‘He started out with the Ashburton Car Club. He wanted to give back and he saw this as an opportunity.
‘‘We greeted it with open arms.
‘‘He is bringing his transporter and his replica of the mini he started off with and is parking that all up in the food court area.’’
The street sprints, in its 35th year, has a full field of drivers and Paddon would be the only demonstration during the event.
‘‘It’s bigger and better running every year,’’ Muckle said.
The car club has four popular vehicle events during Wheels Week+, drawing competitors and support crews from around the South Island.
They are the two-day Ashburton Street Sprint, a sealed motorkhana, a memorial night trial and a standing quarter-mile sprint.
Muckle said the club events in the Wheels Week+ programme covered a very broad range.
‘‘The motorkhana and the car trial are probably our most grassroots-type events out of the four.’’
The standing quarter mile with Repco draws out quite a few people and many who were new.
It brings the general public in to it, as did the Suzie Morrison and Grant Gordon Memorial Night Trial, he said.
The night trial will start from the car club’s clubrooms at Wakelins Rd, just off Methven Highway.
All the club’s events draw thousands of people into Ashburton – those to compete, their support crews and spectators. They flocked into the areas, especially the industrial estate, to watch.
‘‘We get to showcase our club, especially the street sprint which is our biggest event for the year. It’s become an iconic event really.’’
