Paddon out of Australian rally

Kiwi rally star Hayden Paddon has withdrawn his entry for the opening round of the RSEA Safety Motorsport Australia Rally Championship in Canberra this month.

He was to have switched from his locally built AP4+ Hyundai i20 to drive an i20 prepared to international R5 regulations.

The withdrawal came as a result of Covid border restrictions between New Zealand and Australia. He was faced with committing to his New Zealand rally championship campaign and a one-off Australian outing that would have meant he couldn’t be back in New Zealand and rally-ready until June or July.

“It’s disappointing. While we could get to Australia, current travel restrictions would then mean we would not be able to get back into NZ until July, missing the first three rounds of the NZ Championship.”

Paddon said the Canberra event had special significance for him – though he had not contested it before, he spectated on the event 20 years ago and watched Kiwi rally legend Possum Bourne win driving a Group A Subaru Impreza. Bourne led home a top 10 that also included two other New Zealanders, Geof Argyle and Reece Jones.

It’s a busy year for Paddon, who will contest the New Zealand Rally Championship in his AP4+ Hyundai i20 rally car. He is the only driver in the world who has driven a current Hyundai World Rally Car, an AP4+ Hyundai and also an i20 prepared to the global R5 rules.

“The R5 is a nice car to drive, and it has some strengths and some weaknesses compared to AP4. It’s an easy and balanced vehicle to drive."


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