The New Zealanders' success with their maiden WRC round win in Argentina - including a maximum points' haul for winning both the rally and the power stage - less than four weeks ago has given the pair confidence they can fight at the top of the running order, but Paddon remains grounded.
‘‘It's very much business as usual,'' Paddon said about his approach to the rally, which runs from today until Sunday.
‘‘While the confidence is high, our feet are still firmly on the ground. The challenge is greater now with the expectations of our performance and our road position, as being second in the championship behind Sebastien Ogier, we'll be second on the road for Friday and Saturday's legs. We'll stick to our original plan for this season, and maintain our focus to keep improving event by event,'' he said.
Ogier has commented publicly about his dissatisfaction with WRC rules requiring him - as championship leader - to run first on the road for the first two days of an event, forcing him to sweep a quicker line clean for his rivals behind.
Running in second, Paddon's road position means the first pass of the sandy stages will certainly be looser and more challenging in Portugal.
‘‘However, the main person we are focused on for this rally is to stay as close to Seb [Ogier] as we can while in equal conditions. In the future this is the position we need to be fighting from,'' Paddon said.
His and Kennard's win in Argentina was the first for Hyundai's 2016-spec i20 rally car and made New Zealand motorsport history as the first-ever WRC round win for a New Zealand driver and co-driver. Victory in the current spec car was also very positive for the team, Paddon said.
‘‘I think it naturally lifts the motivation within the team somewhat. However, we are all hungry for more and it's good to know that we are all capable of winning, especially as there is more to come in terms of our and the car's performance.''
This is the fifth time Paddon and Kennard have competed in Portugal and they will be one of 19 WRC competitors.
The rally returned to Portugal's north, to the host city of Matosinhos, last year and this year's route of 368 competitive kilometres is very similar to last year, which levels the playing field for all WRC regulars.
Today features one super special stage, while tomorrow's route heads north for eight stages around Ponte de Lima, near the Spanish border. Saturday's six-stage route, the longest of the rally, journeys east for tests near Amarante, and Sunday's leg has just three stages, with the focus on the classic 11.19km Fafe test.
WRC Rally Portugal leads into a string of European rallies where Paddon and Kennard have more experience than the third and fourth round long-haul events in Mexico and Argentina respectively.
