Under-pressure Paddon shines
Hayden Paddon has given his ongoing contract negotiations with Hyundai a major boost with a season-best finish in the final WRC rally of 2018.
The off-contract Kiwi driver, who is yet to finalise a WRC drive in 2019, finished second at Kennards Hire Rally Australia in Coffs Harbour yesterday.
Under pressure to perform in a bid to win a contract, Paddon stood up when it counted in tough conditions yesterday to deliver a potentially career-defining drive under all kinds of expectations.
Paddon was faultless most of the weekend, including yesterday when overnight rain and the odd heavy shower made for tricky conditions and created a dramapacked final few hours of the WRC season.
Toyota’s Jari-Matti Latvala claimed the victory in Rally Australia, 32.5 seconds ahead of Paddon with Mads Østberg a further 19.7 seconds back in third.
Latvala’s victory helped Toyota secure the WRC manufacturers championship.
But Latvala’s win was overshadowed by M-Sport Ford’s Se´bastien Ogier clinching his sixth World Rally Championship after finishing fifth.
Heading into Rally Australia, Ogier held a 23-point lead in the championship over Paddon’s team-mate Thierry Neuville with a further 20 points back to Ott Ta¨ nak.
Paddon, who had been comfortable in third, was promoted to second in the penultimate stage of the rally when Ta¨ nak went off the road and ended both his rally and slim championship hopes.
His mishap handed Ogier the championship before the final stage.
He finished the season with 219 points, 18 clear of Neuville (201) with taking third with 181 points.
Neuville suffered a torrid weekend and his championship chances took hit after hit at Coffs Harbour.
He was finally put out of his misery when he suffered suspension damage and lost a wheel after hitting a tree in stage 22.
Paddon, 31, finished the final stage of Rally Australia – the power stage – in sixth place, 4.6 seconds behind stage winner Ogier.
Paddon and British co-driver Seb Marshall were the first of the three Hyundai cars home at Rally Australia in what was a polished performance.
The second placing was his best result since being the runner-up in Poland in July last year.
Paddon, who has only competed in seven of the 13 WRC rounds in 2018, won three stages over the weekend and was consistently on pace with the best drivers in the world despite not racing in the WRC since finishing seventh at Wales Rally GB in early October.
Hyundai slashed Paddon’s 2018 schedule following a disastrous 2017 and the decision to drop from a four to three car team.
Paddon and Marshall finished third in the 2017 edition of Rally Australia.
It was also their last rally together. Marshall is tipped to be heading to Toyota but that is yet to be confirmed.
The most likely scenario for Paddon in 2019 is the status quo – another split season with Spaniard Dani Sordo but it is yet to be from confirmed as is a codriver.
Paddon and Sordo shared a Hyundai in 2018.
Paddon finishes the WRC year with a second, a third, two fourths, a fifth, a seventh and a DNF after crashing out while leading the Rally de Portugal.
He also won his fourth New Zealand Rally Championship in his downtime from the WRC.
* Mat Kermeen travelled to Coffs Harbour with assistance from WRC.