Hayden Paddon with M-Sport Ford in Finland

Hayden Paddon won't take long to digest the disappointment de ne pas avoir été retenu par Hyundai pour piloter la i20 Coupe WRC on the slopes of Rally from Finland.

Closed off by Craig Breen, the former resident of the Korean team will finally evolve on une Ford Fiesta WRC de l’équipe M-Sport Ford, logically alongside regulars Elfyn Evans and Teemu Suninen.

“John (Kennard his co-pilot) and I are very happy to be back, especially since it has been so difficult to watch the races outside the seats, comments the New Zealander.

M-Sport has been so welcoming, even in the short period since this deal was concluded, which gives me great confidence that we can work together to achieve a result at one of my favorite events in the world. calendar. »

The Kiwi driver's last appearance on the Finnish moguls resulted in a fourth place last year. But Paddon intends to quickly get up to speed. “We are going to give 110%. continues the person concerned.

Certainly, our eight months of absence from the WRC put us a little on the defensive, but John and I are confident in our abilities to arrive well prepared and close to the leaders.

I give myself the minimum objective of being in the top five, but, as always, I will attack to do even better. The ultimate goal is to return to the WRC more regularly in 2020.

I'm in a good phase at the moment. I have a lot left to accomplish and we just need this opportunity. »

Paddon had recently appeared in rallycross (in Titans RX) or had also acquired a Hyundai i30 TCR for its Paddon Motorsport structure. The New Zealander, who took the opportunity to thank his partner Hyundai NZ, has also been campaigning for several years for the return of his country to the world calendar.