Kiwis land world rally spot
Rally star Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard are returning to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with Hyundai Motorsport in 2026.
The New Zealand pairing is set to compete in up to five of the 14 rounds as they rejoin the series after an eight-year hiatus.
They have been confirmed to contest the opening WRC round in Monte Carlo from January 22-25 in a Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car.
Paddon, 38, is rejoining Hyundai Motorsport for a part-time programme and Danni Sordo and Esapekka Lappi will be the other drivers appearing in the team’s third vehicle next year.
The Kiwi says he feels a mix of excitement, anxiety and just wanting to get going after his call-up to the team.
“It’s certainly not what we expected but we’ve never given up with all the programmes we’ve been doing over the last eight years all over the world,” he adds.
“It’s massive. A pinch yourself moment to think that eight years after we were last in the WRC, we’re going back. That’s pretty unheard of.
“So many people believed in us for so many years. Of course, we’re going to take this opportunity with both hands and do the best job we can and see what we can make of it.”
Paddon and Kennard return to the WRC after clinching their first Australian Rally Championship this year and back-to-back European Rally Championship titles in 2023 and 2024.
During his time in WRC, Paddon clinched eight podium finishes and won the Rally Argentina in 2016.
He says next year will bring a different mindset to the one he had years ago when “it was all about trying to win rallies and be a world champion”.
“This time around it’s about being a team player. We have a very clear role to play within the team and that’s in a supporting role, to collect points and be consistent.
“I guess we can back ourselves in what we’ve been good at doing over the past few years all over the world and have solid experience and some wisdom to lean into.
“That’s one of the good things of being older, and we’ll try to use that to our best advantage.”
The 2026 season will mark Paddon and Kennard’s 21st year rallying together and extend their 12-year association with the Hyundai brand.
Read more about the pair’s recent success in the latest edition of Autofile magazine.
