BRC Racing Team and Paddon preparing for Challenging Rally Hungary
As the anticipation builds for the commencement of the new European Rally Championship (ERC) season, BRC Racing and Hayden Paddon are preparing for the opening round, Rally Hungary. With the event marking a significant shift back to gravel, Paddon and co-driver John Kennard are excited to again be working with BRC Racing in their 2024 campaign.
"I'm looking forward to getting the new season underway, and obviously Rally Hungary is a brand-new rally for us," stated Paddon, setting the stage for his return to competition after a 5 month off-season. "It is for a lot of people as well, being that it's back on the gravel, normally it is on the tarmac."
Having 52 ERC competitors entered at Rally Hungary, Paddon emphasized the challenge ahead. "There are some local competitors that do have some knowledge, but nevertheless, we're looking forward to getting the season started," he remarked. "We're pretty comfortable with the car and gravel, so the goal is to put together a strong result."
"If we can start the championship with a podium, then the target has a minimum. But obviously, we'll be going there to put our best foot forward and be as competitive as we can," he asserted.
Being a championship with depth in the competition, Paddon highlighted one key contender to watch out for. "We're expecting probably tougher competition than last year, you know, everyone's upping their game, particularly I think Mads Østberg will be the key person to watch," he remarked. "He's competed in the Hungarian Championship quite a lot, so he knows the roads and he has a good package this year."
"So yeah, really looking forward to it, as I say, it's a long Championship, one foot in front of another, just get some points on the board for this first round, set ourselves up, and then we can continue developing as the e-progress."
Gabriele Rizzo, BRC Racing Team Principal, says "Starting a new FIA ERC season as reigning champions is a great honor and source of pride, but also builds up some extra pressure on our shoulders. It's clear to everybody in the team that the key to aiming for a new success lies exactly in the analysis of how we achieved the previous one. We must target to deliver always extremely solid results, quickly understanding in the first special stages where our performance lies compared to our competitors to adjust the combination of risks versus speed necessary to reach the best final position really achievable. And sometimes in the beginning we'll have to accept not to make an all-in to win. As Hayden mentioned the starting list of Rally Hungary, like always in all FIA ERC events, includes a great mix of international and local drivers someone with the bonus to have experience in these Hungarian stages. We can't wait for great weekend of rally!"