Paddon lands ‘proper podium’
Hayden Paddon has finished second for Hyundai at the Rally del Paraguay, his first top-level World Rally Championship (WRC) gravel event since 2018.
The New Zealander and co-driver John Kennard finished 25.8 seconds behind Toyota’s Finnish pairing of Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen.
The Hyundai duo briefly led the rally on Friday and remained Pajari’s closest challenger thereafter, delivering another significant result on their WRC return season.
It is their best finish this campaign after coming third in Croatia in April and claiming seventh in Japan and 11th in Monte Carlo, with all those races held on tarmac.
Paddon is now eighth in the drivers’ championship on 38 points despite competing in only four of 11 WRC rallies so far this year.
“This one feels like a proper podium,” Paddon says of the Paraguay result. “A lot of people had written us off, but a lot of people believed in me and we believed in ourselves.
“This goes to show you never ever give up. Dream, dare to believe in your dream, and I can’t believe we’re back here in this full circle.”
Pajari’s third straight win on August 30 moves him to 20 points behind championship leader Elfyn Evans with three rounds remaining.
Evans had to settle for fourth in Paraguay after the French pairing of Adrien Fourmaux and co-driver Alexandre Coria snatched third place for Hyundai.
