Hayden Paddon: Testing for Geko Ypres Rally

Today we completed a good test here in Ypres in preparation for this weekends rally. We experienced both wet and dry conditions which will both be relevant to the rally with the very changeable weather we are expecting.

It did take a few runs this morning to adapt back to a S2000 car since it has been 8-9 months since our last rally on tarmac and driving a S2000 car.The main thing that you have to change is to be more aggressive with the car and trust in its extreme capabilities more - late braking, responsive steering etc. But after some set-up changes and some more time in the seat the feeling in the car came quickly, and by the afternoon felt right at home. Our team has also been doing a good job and we feel well prepared for the rally.

You can see our test video at this link:

The atmosphere here in Belgium is incredible. Even at test today their were 100's of spectators and crowds are expected to be very large this weekend for this very popular rally. It will certainly be a challenging event for us as the specialised roads require experience to know where you can and cant cut the corners. This is where the time is made. So recce on Wednesday and Thursday will be crucial to try and spot these.

We will keep you posted throughout the rally, which starts with the qualifying stage on Thursday night. From this we will choose our road position for the rally itself which starts the next day.

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Live Twitter updates: @haydenpaddon

ERC Live results: www.fiaerc.com