Paddon extends rally lead

Championship leader Hayden Paddon has a 15.6 second lead after the first day of the fourth round of the national rally championship in the Wairarapa today.

Geraldine-based Paddon and co-driver John Kennard (Mitsubishi) hold a narrow overnight lead from locals Richard and Sara Mason (Subaru) after the first six stages over 123km of gravel of the two-day event.

Third place goes to Hamilton's Emma Gilmour and co-driver Glenn Macneall in the Vantage Subaru. They have a 13 second advantage over the group two Mitsubishi of Palmerston North's Geof Argyle and co-driver Tarryn Cox.

After puncturing near the end of the fourth test, Paddon said his day was pressured despite taking four stage wins.

"We have been pushing on pretty hard today; any time you can get an advantage you've got to take it, so the lead in the rally and in our championship means a lot when we're against such strong local support for Richard," Paddon said.

Today's results mean Paddon has extended his overall title point advantage from 27 to 32 points.

Results, day one:

Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 9) 1hr 20min 17.5sec 1, Richard Mason/Sara Mason (Subaru Impreza WRX) at 15.6 behind 2, Emma Gilmour/Glenn Macneall (Subaru Impreza WRX) at 1min 39.3sec 3, Geof Argyle/Tarryn Cox (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 7) at 1:52.3 4, Kingsley Thompson/Malcolm Peden (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 10) at 3:21.0 5, Sloan Cox/David Calder Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 10 at 3:38.2 6, Kieran Hall/Peter Hart (Subaru Impreza WRX) at 3:46.1 7, Neil Marshall/Richard Carr (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6.5) at 3:48.6 8, Glenn Smith/Campbell Ward (Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 8) at 3:53.8 9, Matt Jansen/Jason Farmer (Subaru Impreza WRX) at 4:09.8 10.

-NZPA