As his rivals tightened their belts to start pre-event testing, Hayden Paddon was tightening his belt in preparation for 11,011 miles and a day aboard a Dreamliner. Six days before starting a pivotal European Rally Championship finale, he was winning Rally Bay of Plenty in New Zealand.
Talk of such travel heroics are old news for Paddon. But this time, there was a touch more at stake as he powered up and over the equator. A top-five finish at Poland’s Rally Silesia would be enough for him and John Kennard to keep their European Rally Championship crowns in place for another year.
“Just getting to the event has been an achievement,” Paddon told DirtFish. “We’re very grateful to everybody who’s helped us to the start. The plan for here is to drive with some margin – we haven’t come this far to risk the season for a rally win.”
The rally win secured last time out in Wales looked – briefly – like it might be enough to retain the Kiwi’s title, only for Mathieu Franceschi to find the day-two speed needed for a Ceredigion podium which would send the title race to the final round.
Good as his word, Paddon reigned it all in to sit third, at least for Friday night’s crowd-pleaser. Saturday morning and the Hyundai New Zealand i20 N Rally2 was straight into a lead which Paddon wouldn’t lose for the remainder of the day.
Italian stars and Silesia winners Andrea Mabellini and co-driver Virginia Lenzi are lost in a paper-based podium bizzard
Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver Andrea Mabellini kept him honest, just 6.8 seconds down after a strong day for the Italian. Mabellini finished the previous round in the runners-up spot and was ready to risk a bit more in an effort to go one better. And a prediction of more changeable weather conditions through Sunday would bring the opportunity to gamble on tire selection.
Unless you were Paddon. He laughed off the suggestion he could take a riskier, racier selection for the first loop.
“We’ve got all the options covered,” he said. “We don’t mind extra weight – we’re all about playing it safe.”
By the final stage of the Sunday morning loop, Mabellini’s nose was ahead. It might only have been 1.9s, but Paddon wasn’t biting. Second was just fine for him. And when Jon Armstrong snuck by with powerstage win, third worked too. Paddon was champion. Again.
Jon Armstrong ended his season on a high with a superb second, which might have been one better had it not been for a troubled opening day
“Halfway through this year it was tough,” Paddon said. “We were a bit disheartened with things, but this has been the story of this season: it’s been a year of two halves. The determination and grit the whole team showed was incredible. I don’t think we’ve shown our outright speed this year, but we’ve got the job done.
“This one has felt like a fairly long event. I was surprised at the times yesterday. There wasn’t much grip around and we were driving with some margin, so to be leading was a bit of a surprise. Without sounding like a stuck record, today was about not risking anything – we had a bit of a moment in the last but one stage, so we wound it even further back for the powerstage.
“Thanks to all the Kiwis who’ve come here with us, it’s fantastic to have them around and to everybody for the support we’ve had and have back home.”
Ahead of God Defend New Zealand, the band tuned up with Il Canto degli Italiani in deference to a very big moment for Mabellini, who realized a dream and scored that maiden European win. Belying a comparative lack of four-wheel drive experience, Mabellini drove beautifully on what was a technical and tricky asphalt event. He never let Paddon out of sight and, once ahead, rarely looked like putting a wheel wrong. The 25-year-old has a bright future ahead of him.
Right behind him, Armstrong also scored a career-best with second place. The Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy driver endured a couple of day one issues, but kept his Ford Fiesta Rally2 heading in the right direction to leapfrog his way up the leaderboard from an overnight seventh.
Leader after the opening stage, Polish driver Mikołaj Marczyk rounded out a tight top-four, with his Śkoda finishing just 4.3s off Paddon. The local hero was left to rue a penultimate stage moment which he reckoned cost him seven seconds.
“We gave it everything in that last stage,” he said. “It hasn’t been the perfect season for us, but I am giving all my heart to this sport and I hope we will be able to fight for the top positions in ERC.”
Fifth for Franceschi meant there would be no title this year, but he’ll be back to build on what’s been a great 2024 for the Fabia man. Fellow Frenchman Yoann Bonato delivered his Citroën C3 Rally2 to sixth.
Max McRae delivered a strong second to round out his second season of Junior ERC competition
Outside of the top 10, Mille Johansson capitalised on lifting the Junior ERC title a round early with a crushing ERC3 success on only his second outing in a Ford Fiesta Rally3. Where one Swede left off in Juniors, another picked up with Calle Carlberg (Opel Corsa Rally4) heading Max McRae’s Peugeot 208 home by just under half a minute.
Back at the front of the field, Paddon and Kennard were ready for one final trip south this season. The likeable Kiwis have already talked of this being their last outing in Europe. If that is the case, they’ve done themselves proud, what a journey it’s been for the last 17 years.
Thanks for the memories – and the wine – boys.
