By Shaun Summerfield
Top New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon has been relishing his first taste of local roads in his new Skoda rally car.
The 25-year-old says he's more confident than ever of claiming some WRC scalps in next weekend’s Rally New Zealand.
Paddon is back home and wasting no time getting up to speed.
The roads are familiar, but the new S-WRC car means a whole new approach for top New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon.
Reconnaissance for next weekend’s rally starts tomorrow.
Craig Lowndes got caught up in an early incident in the opening race of the Darwin round of V8 Supercars, but there were no problems for his teammate Jamie Whincup, who broke FPR's seven-race winning streak to take the lead of the championship.
But there was no satisfaction for Scott Dixon who was penalised for jumping a restart at the Milwaukee Milem, costing him any chance of victory.
Ryan Hunter Ray went on to win, while Brit Justin Wilson had the most spectacular finish, when his engine caught fire.
Although his doesn't compare with Anthony Davison's exit at Le Mans, after his Toyota clipped a Ferrari.
It took an hour to remove the cars from the fence. Davidson walked away but was later found to have broken his back.
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