• Latest
  • Trending

Paddon suggest’s he could have challenged for a WRC title before Hyundai shut the door

June 17, 2020

Western Bay of Plenty gives green light to Thunder Ridge

August 22, 2025

NASCAR reveals 2026 Cup Series schedule with some major shifts

August 22, 2025

Lawson eyes stronger second half after confidence boost and refreshing support from Racing Bulls

August 22, 2025

Templeton eyes rookie title in Toyota GR86 Championship

August 21, 2025

Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend

August 21, 2025

Dayle ITM Goldrush Rally Coromandel preview

August 21, 2025

D1NZ makes East Coast debut – Tairāwhiti Gisborne joins Championship calendar

August 21, 2025

Thrills, speed, and community spirit at the Dayle ITM Gold Rush Rally of Coromandel

August 20, 2025

Michelin Tyres for the New Zealand Porsche Championship

August 18, 2025

Chris White confirms highly anticipated 2025–26 Toyota GR86 campaign

August 18, 2025

SVG’s oval growth continues as he battles from P27 to P14, matching his best oval finish in the Cup Series

August 18, 2025
Saturday, August 23, 2025
VelocityNews
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time updates on Kiwi drivers, events and much more!
Subscribe to New Alerts
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Paddon suggest’s he could have challenged for a WRC title before Hyundai shut the door

by Zane Shackleton
June 17, 2020
in International, New Zealand, News, Rally, WRC
0

Hayden Paddon admits he felt vulnerable and frustrated having had his Hyundai World Rally contract pulled from underneath him at the eleventh hour back in 2018, believing he has the potential to challenge for the world title against the Korean manufacturer’s current crop of drivers.

Paddon suffered a more than turbulent 2017 campaign which was plagued by a malady of Murphy’s Law.

The season began with the unfortunate incident at Rally Monte Carlo which saw a spectator killed having been struck by an out of control Paddon.

The 33-year-old then saw his long-time co-driver John Kennard retire through injury at Rally Portugal before crashing out of the lead from the following event in Italy.

Speaking on the Ordinary Kiwi podcast, Paddon admitted 2017 was a year for the history books and felt the season had left him fuelled with a desire to prove to Hyundai his true potential.

However, the kiwi was left with a contract deal sliced in half and Paddon has since failed to return to the outfit as a full-time driver despite often proving to be the quickest amongst the team.

 “Unfortunately, at [Hyundai] we didn’t get treated the same as the European drivers,” said Paddon.

“In motorsport a lot of drivers have a bad year and unfortunately halfway through that bad year the team decided to bring another driver in and they had too many contracted drivers.

“So, they ended up cutting our contract in half for the following year which technically they are not allowed to do but they did.  

“So, before we were even allowed time to recover and prove it was just a bad year we had already had our leg’s cut off at our knees and were on the back foot. So very frustrating.

“The following year we put it down as a recovery year – we only had seven rallies instead of 14 so it was a matter of being consistent, fast and get good results.”

Paddon at Rally Finland – 2017

However, Paddon’s curtailed 2018 campaign began in a similarly tumultuous fashion as the previous year when he crashed while leading Rally Portugal.  

The remainder of the season proved promising as the Geraldine driver strived to make his mark on the championship and secure a much anticipated full-time contract.

“The rest of the year went really well. We had two podiums and our last rally we did with Hyundai at Rally Australia we finished second.

“Again, the team were very happy with us. We even scored the most manufacturers points for the team out of the four other drivers in the second half of the year and then they offered us the same contract for 2019 which was not ideal.

“So we agreed on terms…they knew we weren’t going to talk to any other manufacturers.

“And little did we know that a man by the name of Sebastien Loeb, a nine-time world champion, decided he wanted to come back as a part-time driver and two weeks before Christmas, which is less than a month from the opening Rally, the contract which we thought of had got pulled out from under our nose.

“So, just like that at the eleventh hour, we were left with no drive. Very, very frustrating because we have a lot to prove.”

Paddon conceded winning a WRC title in the future seems bleak considering his absence from the sport, but acknowledged the passion is still there and he has become very engaged with other rally projects including his EV Rally challenger and TCR car with Hyundai New Zealand.

“No, I haven’t given up just yet. I don’t like to blow my own smoke but the drivers that are there now [at Hyundai] are all drivers that we could compete against and beat on our good days. I still believe we could have battled to be world champion.

“I still want drive and I still want to win, but I want to go forward and do it with our own new Zealand team.”

Earlier in the month, Paddon unveiled plans were afoot for a four-round return to the WRC with Hyundai New Zealand before the coronavirus-induced suspension.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.