There’s not a rally in the world that Hayden Paddon wouldn’t watch, but next month’s Rally Silesia might have been a toughie.
But instead of sitting on – or hiding behind – his couch on the other side of the world, the defending European Rally champion will be making one last trip north this season. To Poland. To the final round. Paddon has, once again, tempted the fiscal genie from the bottle to find a way to complete his season.
“We’ve always been winging it a little bit this year,” Paddon told DirtFish. “We didn’t really have the budget, certainly not for the full season – but when you’ve won a championship you have to do all you can to defend it.
“When I talked to you in Wales and said I thought that could be my last event in Europe, I really thought it was looking that way. After we won Ceredigion, I went home and the whole team redoubled their efforts to find some more funding and we’re there now. Goes without saying, I want to thank all of our partners for helping us get to the end.”
Paddon genuinely thought Rali Ceredigion (which he won) would be his final rally in Europe
Paddon has the advantage over title rival Mathieu Franceschi ahead of that final round in Chorzów. The Hyundai New Zealand driver has 27 points on the Frenchman.
“Nothing is done yet,” said Paddon. “We’ve achieved our first target of getting to the start, now we have to get to the finish. It would have been a bit of a nightmare to sit at home watching this one, to be honest I’m not sure what I would have done – maybe there would have been a little bit of hiding behind the sofa!”
Should Paddon and Franceschi end the season tied on points, it’ll be the driver with the most wins, then the most second places who takes the title.
“It’s already been an incredible year,” said Paddon. “Now we want to bring this one home for all of our partners – and, of course, it would be great to deliver another championship for Hyundai and the i20 N Rally2.”
Paddon won’t be making his final ERC outing of the season alone. His team will be alongside him – and so will the usual army of fans. Paddon’s Pack follow him everywhere and this time the trip could be one of the best.
“I’ve been very fortunate through my career to have such loyal support from back home in New Zealand,” said Paddon. “And having the fans come on the tour and join me at events is something really special. Seeing that Silver Fern as we’re coming through the stages gives John [Kennard, co-driver] and I such a lift.
“We’re running the usual tour to Poland and, providing everything goes to plan, this could be a very special trip for us all.”
