WRC Testing

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Originally Posted by Fast Eddie WRC

Hayden Paddon:

Day 1 done at Rally Devoluy - some very nice stages and perfect warm up for Monte Carlo. The main focus here is about getting used to and comfortable to the changing grip levels, and learning the range of Hankook tyres. We have been trying different tyre options, some better than others. 6 more stages tomorrow to continue the learning.

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hes the first R5 right behind fourmaux and solberg in rally1s. is it weird that hyundai hasnt gave hayden a rally1 for this one already?

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Originally Posted by saco0o

hes the first R5 right behind fourmaux and solberg in rally1s. is it weird that hyundai hasnt gave hayden a rally1 for this one already?

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Yeah, thought the same. Would have been a much better Monte preparation than with R5. But maybe he hasn't done snowy icy tarmac for a long time and was better to start with something slower and familiar.

2026 season hasn't even started, but they already make interesting decisions indeed :D

Fourmaux has done this event with wrc last year, has full season under the belt and now they put 3rd driver in Monte, Paddon, to drive with small car, that he knows for years..

They just hope for same tricky conditions?

Only thing and logical I can think about is that he is also doing development job for Rally2 car. Being also in Rally1 to get a feeling what could be transfered from that car to that which will be driven in 2027. Or maybe they will secretly build new car

Knowing Hyundai they only had one Rally1 test car available and Fourmaux got first pick of using it.

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Originally Posted by deephouse

Only thing and logical I can think about is that he is also doing development job for Rally2 car. Being also in Rally1 to get a feeling what could be transfered from that car to that which will be driven in 2027. Or maybe they will secretly build new car

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Hayden was not driving on tarmac since Ypres. This year he did mainly "only" australian championship, which is not the best way to be prepared to start on WRC event. So I expect it was also the way to give him some more mileage before start of the season. Contrary to previous years, stages used on Devoluy will not be used in Monte, so it is not about knowledge of the stages.

Paddon seems happy enough...

'Been a really successful test rally here at Rallye Dévoluy. We tried every tyre option and gained valuable seat time in tricky, Monte-like conditions. As a bonus, we finished as the first Rally2 car and 3rd overall (behind two Rally1 cars).

A massive thanks to the BRC team - always a pleasure working with our friends there. Also to Matthias and Nicolas from HMSG for their help as we learn the conditions.

Lastly, a huge thanks to Jack Morton for stepping in last minute as co-driver and doing an amazing job. Jack will play a key role as our gravel note crew next year, so it was great for him to spend time in the car, learn our pacenote system, and understand how the tyres behave in different conditions.'

Does anyone here know if and when will Paddon test the rally1 car for Monte-Carlo? Did they finish their test days for 2025 because I do recall them being very limited since the start of 2024.

Neuville Monte 2026 PET
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3REXKvz4oo

Thierry Neuville Test Hyundai Rally1 | development 2026 | [Passats de canto]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV9aWZHr7fI