Hayden Paddon writes from Finland......
Hi
We have had a very successful last few days here in Finland, in our build up to this weekend's event. Since our last update we have had a Pirelli test day on Monday, followed by two days of recce.
The weather here, since I arrived last Thursday, has continued to be very hot and sunny, with 30 degree days drying the roads and creating a lot of dust. Our Monday test was run over a 4.5km road that was similar to the narrower and tighter sections of the rally, and it all went well. Combined with the driver training we did last Saturday, on a road with several jumps, plus the fast piece of road that will be used for shakedown tomorrow, means we have had a good taste of Rally Finland before the event proper starts. The Pirelli Evo X is feeling good after we made some small changes to the set-up on Monday. Shakedown tomorrow will allow us to confirm that the changes we made also suit the fast stages.
Recce has given us our first proper look at the stages and my first impression is - GROUSE! As we were expecting, the roads are fast, which is what I have always preferred, and of course typically for this event, there are lots of jumps and crests, though I must admit, not as many as I thought. If you took out the crests and jumps you would almost swear that you were in New Zealand in places and the speed of the roads would be comparable, if not faster, than the fastest stages on Rally Nelson. There are also some narrow sections that you don't normally see from the media coverage. The general road surface is hard and fast, but there are some softer, sandier sections that will cut up. In general though I think these roads will suit us well and I am confident that we have a good set of notes for them.
Tomorrow morning we have shakedown, which is on a fast road, very similar to some of the roads in the rally. Afterwards I will attend a Rally Tours Forum, as a guest speaker alongside the Ford WRC drivers. It will also be great to catch up with the family and supporters who all arrived into Finland over the past couple of days. Late tomorrow afternoon is when the action starts, with a short 4.5km Super Special stage to begin. In the meantime we have a bit of work to do with our notes this evening.
Until tomorrow,
Hayden
