The defending ERC champion and current points leader set a 2min 23.9sec best through the 4.15km Green4Wales Cwmerfyn test in his Pirelli-equipped Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
“We pushed,” said the BRC Racing Team driver, who earns the right to start first on the road on leg one of the Welsh Tarmac event. “We know road position is important for tomorrow. The car feels really dialled in for the weekend and we’re feeling good.”
Mathieu Franceschi (below), who is chasing Paddon for the 2024 ERC title, was second fastest, 1.8sec adrift in a Michelin-equipped Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. “Normal stage, nothing special,” the Frenchman said afterwards.
Junior WRC champion William Creighton beat M-Sport team-mate and fellow Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-backed driver Jon Armstrong to the third quickest time in his Ford Fiesta Rally2. “I’m quite happy, we were pretty clean,” Creighton said. “I’m not used to going flat out at the start of the weekend to get a time in qualifying.”
Miko Marczyk (below) was fifth fastest in a time of 2min 26.9sec. He said: “It’s okay, it’s just the start, we will see how the others perform. It’s very important to be focused on the next two days because a lot can happen.”
Making his debut on asphalt aboard his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, 2019 ERC champion Chris Ingram hit back from a Free Practice spin to post the sixth fastest time followed by Irishman Keith Cronin. The four-time British champion reported a slippery surface due to mud being dragged onto the road by the early runners.
On his first start in the ERC for Team MRF Tyres, multiple Romanian champion Simone Tempestini went eighth quickest but picked up minor front-left damage to his Volkseagen Polo GTI R5, which he’s using in competition for the first time.
“It was just a tight exit and we touched a bit,” Tempestini said. “We missed a bit of time for sure but the stage was okay for us.”
Andrea Mabellini was next up in another Team MRF Tyres entry followed by Matt Edwards, the British championship winner on four occasions.
The LAS Recycling & Cambrian Training Aberystwyth town centre super special gets under way at 18:05 local time today. Rally.tv’s live coverage begins at 17:15.
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