Paddon: “I was punished for my bad season”

Hayden Paddon will compete at Rally of Finland his first round WRC since Australia 2018 where he took second place. The New Zealander had to keep up subsequently by competing in national rallies with Hyundai, without having the opportunity to evolve at a global level.

“It’s certain that after Monte-Carlo, it took me several races to be 100% again., confided Hayden Paddon to AUTOhebdo remembering the accident which cost the life of a misplaced spectator in 2017. My 2017 season was not good, but for several reasons that I don't know. I made mistakes and I admit that these twelve months were complicated, but I also suffered a lot of problems with the Hyundai. There were more problems with the car than I made mistakes. Sometimes there is a chain of negative things. I've only had one bad year in my career. It was 2017 and I was punished for it. »

While the Korean manufacturer has decided to engage Craig Breen in the third i20 WRC, Hayden Paddon will have a unique chance to compete with the best in the discipline in the hope of regaining a contract.

“I tell myself that it will come back easily, said the New Zealander. Of course, I haven't raced in the WRC for 8 months (Australia, in November 2018. Editor's note), but I haven't stopped competing since I regularly compete in rallies in New Zealand. It's also clear that the Fiesta will behave differently from the Hyundai, but that doesn't worry me too much. I've been alternating frames lately. This will undoubtedly help me quickly find my feet... It's a challenge that won't be easy to take on, but Finland is my favorite rally. Finishing in the top five would be a good result, although of course I hope for better…”

Discover the full interview with Hayden Paddon in issue 2224 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version on all platforms and on newsstands.