Home outings for Kiwi Paddon
Triple New Zealand rally champion Hayden Paddon will return home to tackle two rounds of his country’s national championship this season.
Paddon, who won the title in 2008, 2009 and 2013, will split the six-round series in a Hyundai i20 AP4+ car with defending champion David Holder and young talent Job Quantock. Each will drive two rounds with the Hyundai New Zealand team.
Paddon will compete in Rally Coromandel (26 August) and the two-day Tauranga-based Rally New Zealand (25 - 26 November).
Family team Paddon Rallysport is running the programme which aims to give opportunities to talented young drivers from New Zealand. The 29-year-old Hyundai Motorsport driver is relishing the chance to return to a series in which he developed as a youngster.
“My main target is obviously the WRC programme, but to keep me sane it’s good to have projects outside the WRC. They give me a different perspective on things,” said Paddon from his home in New Zealand before heading to next week’s Rally Guanajuato Mexico (9 - 12 March).
“The best part of this programme is that I still get a chance to compete locally. I miss New Zealand a lot and we have the best roads and rallies, so to have the chance to still compete at home is amazing.”
Photo Gallery
