Hayden Paddon feels he has ‘nothing to lose’ ahead of his first gravel event in a Rally1 car this week.
Having initially done a deal with Hyundai Motorsport to compete on three Tarmac rounds of the World Rally Championship (Monte Carlo, Croatia and Japan) in 2026, Paddon and co-driver John Kennard have earned a bonus opportunity at this week’s Rally del Paraguay.
The 2016 Rally Argentina winner has never competed in Paraguay before, gravel in a top class WRC car since 2018 nor in South America since 2017.
With that in mind, Paddon is not putting himself under any pressure.
“I’m obviously super excited to finally get a chance on gravel with the Rally1 car,” he said. “It was never in the initial plan this year. Our original contract was for the three Tarmac rallies.
“Obviously we’ve been pushing to have that opportunity on gravel, which is where we feel comfortable, where I think things are going to happen and click a little bit easier. So yeah, obviously it’s a privilege to have this opportunity.
“To return back to South America [is also special], where there’s some pretty fond memories from 10 years ago. Paraguays obviously different country with different stages, but it should be a simiilar vibe if you like. So a lot of special memories.
“We’re going into a rally where we effectively have nothing to lose. The target is different to our Tarmac events – this time we want to drive flat out, give it everything we have and deliver the strongest result possible for the team.
“Our mileage on gravel is limited to just two short tests, but from the very first kilometer I felt at home in the car and on the surface. Gravel is what we’ve cut our teeth on, so no excuses.
“We’re going to go there and make the most of the opportunity we’ve got, and we’re super excited for it.”
Paddon's more comfortable on gravel, but did achieve a podium on Tarmac in Croatia
Paraguay is likely Paddon’s last appearance of the season for Hyundai, with Esapekka Lappi driving the third entry two weeks later in Chile and Dani Sordo expected to tackle Sardinia – an event he’s won twice before.
Returning to South America, a decade after his one and only WRC win (so far), is poignant for Paddon.
“Yeah I guess personally it probably is a bit of a trip back down memory lane,” he admitted.
“Obviously it’s pretty special what happened there 10 years ago and at that time we probably didn’t embrace that moment enough, so if anything it’s an opportunity to go back and enjoy that moment and try and create another moment.
“We’ve got a big group of people coming over with us, so we look forward to sharing it with some other Kiwis and, hey, you never know. Many surprising things sometimes happen in rallies.”
