WRC
Paddon eager for gravel chance after doing “everything asked of us”
Hyundai Motorsport’s Hayden Paddon would welcome an opportunity to showcase his skills on gravel in South America later this year as he looks to extend his FIA World Rally Championship comeback.
The New Zealander was a surprise inclusion in Hyundai’s 2026 WRC driver line-up after the team drafted in the 39-year-old to pilot its third i20 N Rally1 car on asphalt rounds in Monte Carlo, Croatia and Japan. It marked a return to the team and the WRC’s top tier for the first time since finishing second at Rally Australia in 2018.
Despite the challenge of getting to grips with Rally1 machinery, Paddon and co-driver John Kennard have turned heads on their WRC return, with the highlight being a third-place finish in Croatia, which proved to be Hyundai’s best result on asphalt this season.
A seventh-place finish at FORUM8 Rally Japan earlier this month marked the last scheduled start for the Kiwi duo as the WRC now embarks on seven consecutive gravel rallies to end the season.
Reflecting on their three starts to date, Paddon believes he and Kennard can be proud of what they achieved.
“It has been three of probably the most challenging rallies on Tarmac, but we have tried to take the challenge in our stride and do the best we can,” said Paddon.
“We have improved and I think the speed has got better with each rally and we have got a couple of good results. We have done everything that was asked of us.
“Japan was challenging. I did a lot of prep and a lot of work but even when we went out onto the stages there was a lot to take in. I think we did the best we could. We were about where we wanted to be against our team-mates who were on roads they drove only six months ago. There were plenty of positives.”
While Paddon has enjoyed success on asphalt, particularly during his run to back-to-back European Rally Championship titles in 2023 and 2024, gravel remains his favoured surface. After doing “everything that was asked” by the team, he is hopeful he could add an extra gravel round to his WRC programme this year with Hyundai.
© WRC
Hyundai has already confirmed that Dani Sordo will take over the third seat for the next gravel round at EKO Acropolis Rally Greece, while Esapekka Lappi is widely expected to pilot the entry in Estonia and Finland. That leaves Paraguay, Chile, Sardinia and Saudi Arabia still to be decided. Paddon’s only WRC win to date came in South America, when he took victory in Argentina for Hyundai in 2016.
“I’d like to [have another round] of course but at the moment there is nothing agreed. We will have to see,” added Paddon.
“At the end of the day the team makes the decisions that are best for the team and I will support those whatever they are. Hopefully I can help with a bit of testing and things towards next year.
“I would like to go to South America. I have got good memories down there and the roads are exactly the roads I enjoy. Finland and Estonia are very specialised and that is EP’s [Esapekka Lappi’s] backyard.”
While Paddon’s WRC future is yet to be decided, he is due to make a return to European competition with an outing at Ypres Rally in Belgium later this month, where he will pilot a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car prepared by BMA Autosport.
