Hope you are well. Luckily a short break between events means it almost time to get back behind the wheel of the i20 WRC and back on the gravel with this weeks Rally Mexico. This event couldn’t be more contrasting to Sweden, with hot dry dusty roads providing the battle ground for the first gravel event of the year.

After a good result in Sweden and a really really good test last week in Spain – we are still keeping our expectations in check. This is our first time competing here and that alone is a bit of a disadvantage. However in our favour this weekend is our road position (8th – because this is our position in the championship) and the new settings we have on the car from our test which makes the car much easier for me to drive.

The stages here in Mexico provide several challenges. The stages themselves are a mixture of fast, technical and generally pretty smooth. Although, alongside the road are a lot of hidden dangers and rocks. Studying previous years editions of the event, the attrition rate here is often high – stressing the importance of trying to have a clean event. Also the altitude here provides another aspect with some stages reaching as high as 2,600 metres (higher than Mount Ruapehu in NZ). This will sap a whopping 50-60 bhp from the car which will mean we will have to adapt our driving style to be smoother. But this is all part of our learning curve this weekend.

Its great to have Dani Sordo back in the team this weekend. He will provide another really good yardstick for us. Naturally we want to be competitive, but first and foremost our target this weekend will be trying to be competitive with our teammates and to get some good points at the end of the event. First we have to make sure we have a really good recce over the next couple of days and keep working hard.

You can follow us as usual during the rally on social media – all the links you need to follow the rally can be found on our home page, www.haydenpaddon.com.