Paddon’s season gets liftoff in Polish event
Hayden Paddon has finished second at Rally Poland.
The Kiwi rally driver safely negotiated his Hyundai through a tricky final day on the slippery roads of Poland to finish one minute 23.9 seconds behind Belgian team-mate Thierry Neuville.
Estonia’s Ott Tanak had been ahead of Paddon going into the final day, but crashed early on Sunday and was forced to retire from the rally.
World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Ogier was third, with Neuville closing his overall lead to 11 points.
It was a welcome return to form for Paddon after two consecutive retirements.
‘‘Very happy,’’ he said after the four final stages.
‘‘To finish on the podium is more than we expected, especially after the rally started on Friday morning when we found ourselves 40 seconds back.
‘‘Since then the rally’s gone very well. We stayed out of trouble and then today was about consolidating.
‘‘We had a big gap in front and behind, and we just wanted to bring home a podium result. Unfortunate for Ott who had a small crash, which meant we were able to pick up second and 1-2 for the team, but you know for us, it’s a massive relief.
It ended a 12-month drought of podium finishes for Paddon.
‘‘This year’s been some of the hardest times of my life. It’s been very difficult and this weekend has helped me lower the shoulders and relax a little bit.
‘‘[This] gives us a bit of momentum now that we can build on to work towards future rallies. So really, really happy with this result.’’
Paddon now has a short break before the WRC resumes in Finland on July 27, which Paddon described as his ‘‘favourite rally of the year’’.