Paddon to headline starstudded event
CROMWELL driver Hayden Paddon is set to headline one of New Zealand’s strongest domestic rally fields.
The World Rally Championship star has confirmed he will compete in the Battle of Jacks Ridge rally sprint near Auckland on November 15.
It is expected to attract the strongest field so far assembled for a domestic rally.
The 33yearold will race the 3km sprint stage at the purposebuilt facility in his Hyundai i20 AP4.
The full 6km stage, located in Whitford, was to be a feature of Rally New Zealand when the WRC returned to the country for the first time sine 2012, before the Covid19 pandemic led to the event being cancelled.
‘‘This is going an amazing event and one I am really looking forward to,” Paddon, who became the first southern hemisphere driver to win a world championship event in 2016, said.
‘‘Andrew has done an amazing job constructing a worldclass rally stage that will be a real test for drivers while giving spectators an amazing show.
‘‘There are some technical bits that will put drivers to the test while the jumps will take some serious commitment and will be spectacular to watch.’’
He will also contest the City of Auckland Rally, using stages that would have made up the WRC event, the day before.
‘‘It is such a shame that Covid19 has disrupted the sport so much and that we weren’t able to hold a WRC Rally New Zealand on those awesome stages,’’ Paddon said.
‘‘It will be great to be able to drive some of those iconic stages and compete with New Zealand’s best too.
‘‘My team will be working hard converting our Hyundai i20 overnight and setting it up for the Battle of Jacks Ridge on the Sunday, where the extra horsepower will be needed.
‘‘It sounds like there will a lot of competition and I can’t wait to get amongst it.”
LONDON: Fourtime Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel will race for Aston Martin, the new name for the Canadianowned Racing Point team, on a multiyear deal after leaving Ferrari at the end of the season.
The German (33) replaces Mexican Sergio Perez, who leaves at the end of the 2020 season.
‘‘I am pleased to finally share this exciting news about my future. I’m extremely proud to say that I will become an Aston Martin driver in 2021,’’ Vettel said in a team statement.
‘‘It’s a new adventure for me with a truly legendary car company.
‘‘I have been impressed with the results the team has achieved this year and I believe the future looks even brighter,’’ he said.
‘‘I believe we can build something very special together. I still have so much love for Formula One and my only motivation is to race at the front of the grid.’’
The statement did not give details but said Vettel, who won his world championship titles for Red Bull from 201013, had signed up ‘‘for 2021 and beyond’’.
Vettel has had a tough time at Ferrari since the arrival of Monegasque Charles Leclerc.
The team has struggled this year but announced in May, before the season had even started, that Vettel would be leaving at the end of the year. He will be replaced by
Spaniard Carlos Sainz from McLaren.
Racing Point is fourth overall after eight races, and Ferrari sixth.
At Mercedespowered Aston Martin, Vettel will team up with Canadian Lance Stroll, son of the team's billionaire owner Lawrence who is also the executive chairman of the Britishbased sportscar maker. — Reuters
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