Paddon excels on home soil

Hayden Paddon and co-driver John Kennard rediscovered their form at the Otago International Classic Rally, taking an historic come-from-behind victory in their 40-year-old Ford BDA Escort

Paddon and Kennard started the final stage more than seven seconds behind leaders Phil Campbell and Venita Fabbro (Evo 9). The gap had widened by two more seconds with just 10km left to race, which was the cue for one of the most incredible drives in New Zealand rally history.

The pair charged towards the finish line, clawing back the deficit to finish the event 2.5 seconds ahead of Campbell and Fabbro. It marks the first time since 1987 that a 2WD car has won an NZRC round outright.

The win couldn’t have come at a better time for Paddon, as the 28-year-old has struggled with mechanical issues and driver error in the last two rounds of the WRC.

He was forced to re-enter both Rally Mexico and Rally Argentina under Rally 2 conditions, which require a driver to take a five-minute penalty in order to remain eligible for championship points.

“We came [to Otago] for fun,” said Hayden. “We never came here chasing a win like that, but as it got close going into last couple of stages, we gave it everything. It’s a bonus for us. We haven’t won anything in the last 18 months, so hopefully this will give us the boost we need to start turning the season around.”

Paddon, Kennard, Campbell and Fabbro were joined on the podium by Te Aroha young gun Lance Williams and his co-driver Raymond ‘Crunch’ Bennett (Impreza).

Paddon and Kennard also blitzed the competition in the classic category, finishing more than 11 minutes clear of the defending National Historic Champion Marcus van Klink and co-driver Dave Neill (RX7). Third place went to Scotland’s Alister McRae and co-driver Bill Hayes (Escort RS1800).

Level playing field in Portugal

Paddon and Kennard next compete in the WRC in Portugal on 21 May. The roads in this year’s event were last used in 2001, which should help close the gap in experience between the Kiwi duo and their more seasoned rivals.

The final day of the event includes the iconic 6km section of the Fafe-Lameirinha stage, which for the last three years has been run as a separate rally sprint in the week preceding Rally Portugal.