Paddon surprised and angry at Hyundai's choice for Finland

Hayden Paddon has it bad, and makes it known. The New Zealander, not selected by his former team in the World Rally Championship (WRC) Hyundai for the Rally of Finland 2019 (August 1-4), does not understand the strategy of the South Korean manufacturer and denounces a lack of consideration towards it. 

When formalizing the commitment of Craig Breen and Paul Nagle in Finland (alongside Thierry Neuville and Andreas Mikkelsen), the 2010 P-WRC champion first cracked an ironic tweet: “ Is today April Fool's Day? ". Before supporting his point with a long message on Facebook, the translation of which we offer below.

Is it April fools today?

— Hayden Paddon (@HaydenPaddon) 25th June 2019

“I will only make one post about the current situation and our feelings (his co-driver John Kennard), because for too long we have been silent and tried to do the right things. First of all, I'm happy for Craig (Breen) and I wish him the best for this rally.

I am going to debunk all the debates that we refused the offer to do a rally with Hyundai. This is incorrect and has been covered disproportionately by the media. At the very beginning there were discussions of this rally as we received the news ofa permanent non-presence in 2019 last December, and at that moment, the emotion was palpable after being abandoned without a solution. However, nothing has been formally discussed. 

Since February, we have been actively in communication with the team (Hyundai Motorsport) in any role – testing, rally (Finland), … My passion is still strong for the WRC and I feel in top form at the moment. I know the car well (the i20 Coupe WRC) and I was ready to jump into the cockpit to do a good job. » 

Naturally, you can understand that we are very angry. I gave my life for this brand, in everything I did. Our business in New Zealand, our partnership with Hyundai New Zealand (he enters a modified i20 in the national championship. Ed.), buying a Hyundai TCR, everything that was possible to accomplish! 

And yet, we were not approached for the Rally Finland, even though we had offered our services on numerous occasions. Since our last departure to Australia (end of November), we have had little interaction with the team – no recognition of our time spent with them, no formal thanks, no projections about the future . »

Hayden Paddon finally confirms the continued support from Hyundai New Zealand, and clarifies that he has no resentment towards Craig Breen, also sidelined by official training (Citroën), late 2018. “I have a lot of respect for him and it’s natural to seize opportunities when they present themselves. »