Paddon goes back-to-back
Hayden Paddon has secured back-to-back FIA European Rally Championships (ERC) after clinching the 2024 title with a third-place finish in the season-ending Rally Silesia, Poland.
The Kiwi ace and co-driver John Kennard’s success in their Hyundai i20 N Rally2 also helped the BRC Racing Team clinch the ERC teams’ title.
Paddon finished the rally, held October 11-13, on the podium behind winners Andrea Mabellini and co-driver Virginia Lenzi, and Jon Armstrong and Eoin Tracey.
The New Zealander went into Rally Silesia knowing a top-eight finish would be enough to see him end the season ahead of his main rival, Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi.
“I wasn’t going to risk the title by being drawn into a fight today, I just wanted to bring the car home,” says Paddon.
“I knew what I was here to do and the title is hugely important. We’ve worked all year to achieve it.
“We’ve had our backs up against the wall for the best part of the season with a performance deficit, but the team has been working hard to bring that back.”
While the defending champion eventually finished 20 points ahead of Franceschi, he still encountered some late drama in Poland after making two errors on the penultimate stage.
“[On the] second corner, [we] went off the line into a bank and pretty much got bellied,” explains Paddon. “I was just sitting there on full throttle trying to get out, had to reverse, going again and we dropped out 15 [seconds] there.
“Then a couple of [kilometres] later at a junction I just went straight through the barriers, had to go down the road, loop around, come back. I don’t think I’ve had so many adventures in one stage so we probably dropped a good 20-plus seconds.”
The mistakes took the pressure off Mabellini, who recorded his maiden ERC win and finished fourth in the championship.
Final standings
1. Hayden Paddon (NZL), 124 points
2. Mathieu Franceschi (FRA), 104pts
3. Miko Marczyk (POL), 86pts
4. Andrea Mabellini (ITA), 71pts
5. Simone Tempestini (ROM), 59pts
