Hayden Paddon has secured a podium place in Rally Finland over the weekend, finishing in fourth place until a post-race disqualification for Finnish driver, Teemu Suninen, for an underweight front bumper elevated the Kiwi to third.
The disqualification of the WRC2 Rally Finland winner Suninen elevates compatriot Emil Lindholm to top spot and Estonian Egon Kaur to second, gifting Paddon third.
It seemed to be a home victory for Finnish rally driver Teemu Suninen who wound up finishing just over two minutes ahead of Paddon, and a close 7.7 seconds ahead of Lindholm.
A brief loss of power for Suninen on Saturday morning brought second place runner Emil Lindholm into contention but was held off for the initial win.
Third position for Paddon and co-driver John Kennard is a great result for the pair’s first proper go at a WRC2 event after they missed Rally Estonia due to a positive COVID test.
The New Zealand rally driver remained consistent throughout the rally, running in the top half of the field during the four day event.
“We just missed the podium but couldn’t be more proud of our team and how we have pulled off this campaign,” said Paddon, before learning of Suninen’s disqualification.
“P4 is a great result considering where we started with the car in Latvia a month ago and we have much more to still come.”
Paddon and his team are now set to bring the car home for the upcoming Repco Rally New Zealand event running between September 29 and October 2.
Image: Hayden Paddon (Facebook)
