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Hayden Paddon (born 20 April 1987) is a New Zealand rallying driver. He was PWRC world champion in 2011 and won the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2023 he became the first non-European to be crowned European Rally Champion. Following that up by retaining the European Rally Championship title in 2024 and winning the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship.
In 2009 he retained his New Zealand title, won the Pacific Cup, and also qualified for the Pirelli Star Driver Asia-Pacific final at the 2009 Rally Australia. Paddon was the fastest of the drivers on the opening day's stages, meaning he won the Pirelli Star Driver scholarship, giving him a fully funded programme for six events of the 2010 World Rally Championship season. Paddon's event got even better when he finished ninth overall, ahead of all of the PWRC regulars. Paddon also won a $50,000 International Rising Stars Scholarship run by Rally of New Zealand, giving him the additional funding needed to complete a full 2010 PWRC campaign in addition to the PSD events.
In 2010, Paddon won the PWRC category of Rally New Zealand in his own Evo IX, finishing 14th overall. He then finished third and second in PWRC on Rally Finland and Rallye Deutschland in the Pirelli Star Driver Evo X.
In 2011, Paddon contested a full PWRC season, consisting of 6 Rounds; Portugal, Argentina, Finland, Australia, Spain and GB. He competed under his newly formed team New Zealand World Rally Team and in a surprising move, Paddon switched to a Subaru for the 2011 season, as he had usually run in a Mitsubishi. Paddon drove a STR11 Subaru Impreza N4 run by Belgian Team Symtech Racing. Paddon's 2011 season proved to be a breakthrough as he took 1st place in four rallies consecutively: Portugal, Argentina, Finland and Australia, where he became 2011 P-WRC Champion.
The 2012 season saw Paddon move to the S-WRC championship in a Škoda Fabia S2000. After a 4th place among the S-WRC finishers in Sweden, he took his first S-WRC win in his second rally in the car at 2012 Rally de Portugal, which saw many competitors, including Paddon, have breakdowns.
2014 saw Paddon's first stage win in the World Rally Championship during the Rally Catalunya in Spain.
In 2015, Paddon took his first ever lead of a WRC event in the Rally d'Italia. Paddon was the first New Zealander to lead a World Rally Championship event since Possum Bourne held the lead in the 1999 Rally New Zealand and the first one to do so outside of his country. He finished second overall, behind Sébastien Ogier, after a careful performance and many stage wins.
In 2016, on the 4th round, the YPF Rally Argentina, Paddon took his - and New Zealand's - first WRC win by 13.3 seconds from Sébastien Ogier. His co-driver, John Kennard also became the oldest co-driver to win a WRC round at 57 years of age. Notably and perhaps controversially he celebrated the victory with a black and silver fern flag rather than the flag of New Zealand, following the failed flag referendum held earlier in the year. His intent was to distinguish the New Zealand flag from the Australian flag, where confusions still exists, even when, at the time of the victory, he was not competing against Australian drivers or co-drivers.
In the first rally of 2017, the 2017 Monte Carlo Rally, Paddon crashed out on the first stage, losing control of his Hyundai. A spectator was killed in the incident having been hit by the right rear of Paddon's car. Although Paddon's car was not severely damaged and could have continued, the Hyundai team withdrew Paddon from the rally as a mark of respect. Prior to round 6 in Portugal, Paddon's long-time co-driver John Kennard decided to retire through injury, and he was replaced by Briton Sebastian Marshall. Overall, Paddon endured a frustrating season, picking up just two podiums in Poland and Australia. He led round 7 in Italy, until retiring late on day 2 after hitting a bank and breaking his right rear suspension.
In October 2020. Hayden Paddon and Hyundai New Zealand reveals one of the worlds first EV rally cars, based on the Hyundai Kona. Paddon both organised and won the 2020 inaugural Ben Nevis Station Golden 1200 hillclimbing event in Central Otago, where he was driving a specially prepared Hyundai i20 called the AP4++ with a custom 2.1L turbo 4 cylinder engine making 800 hp.
In March 2022, Hayden Paddon teamed up with Hyundai New Zealand to enter a car into WRC2. The car will be run by Hyundai New Zealand Rally, with the previously established team of engineers, technician and team management. Hayden managed to fight off many international drivers to win the WRC2 class in his home country. In 2023 Hayden Paddon joined the Italian BRC Racing Team, and with the support of Hyundai New Zealand and Pirelli, put a 2023 European Rally Championship together. Winning the first event of the season in Portugal, Hayden and John Kennard fought their way to a maiden European Rally Championship Title, becoming the first non-european driver to win said championship. Hayden also fought on his home grounds to win the 2023 New Zealand Rally Championship.
2024 saw Hayden and John Kennard put together another European Rally Championship title fight in the BRC Racing Team with the support of Hyundai New Zealand, Pirelli, and HMS Customer Racing. Hayden and John had a tough fight throughout the season, taking their first and only win of the season at round 7 in Rali Ceredigion. Fighting off title fights from Mathieu Franceschi and Mikolaj Marczyk, Hayden managed to win back-to-back European Rally Championships. Hayden also managed to win the 2024 FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship with up and coming New Zealand co-driver Jared Hudson.
| 1 | Rally Argentina | 2016 | John Kennard | Hyundai i20 WRC |
| 1 | Rally Serras de Fafe e Felgueiras | 2023 | John Kennard | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 |
| 2 | Rali Ceredigion | 2024 | John Kennard | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 |
| 2007 ! nowrap | Paddon Direct Green Team ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII | MON | SWE | NOR | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA | GRE | FIN | GER | NZL 49 | !rowspan=2 NC !rowspan=2 | 0 | |||
| 2008 ! nowrap | Paddon Direct Green Team ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | MON | SWE | MEX | ARG | JOR | ITA | GRE | TUR | FIN | GER | NZL 12 | ESP | FRA | JPN | GBR | ! NC ! 0 |
| 2009 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX | IRE | NOR | CYP | POR | ARG | ITA | GRE | POL | FIN | AUS 9 | ESP | GBR | ! NC ! 0 | |||
| 2010 ! nowrap | Pirelli Star Driver ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X | SWE | MEX | JOR | TUR 26 | POR 20 | BUL | FIN 21 | GER 19 | FRA 35 | ESP | GBR 19 | !rowspan=2 NC !rowspan=2 | 0 | |||
| 2011 ! nowrap | New Zealand World Rally Team ! nowrap | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | SWE | MEX | POR 11 | JOR | ITA | ARG 9 | GRE | FIN 19 | GER | AUS 6 | FRA | ESP 34 | !rowspan=2 18th !rowspan=2 | 10 | ||
| 2012 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Škoda Fabia S2000 | MON | SWE 23 | MEX | POR 16 | ARG | GRE | NZL 12 | FIN Ret | GER | GBR 26 | FRA Ret | ITA | ESP 20 | ! NC ! 0 | ||
| 2013 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Škoda Fabia S2000 | MON | SWE | MEX | POR | ARG | GRE | ITA | FIN 11 | GER 8 | AUS 17 | FRA | GBR | !rowspan=2 18th !rowspan=2 | 8 | ||
| 2014 ! nowrap | Hyundai Motorsport N ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 WRC | MON | SWE | MEX | POR | ARG | ITA 12 | POL 8 | FIN 8 | GER | AUS 6 | FRA | ESP 9 | GBR 10 | ! 14th ! 19 | ||
| 2015 ! nowrap | Hyundai Motorsport !rowspan=2 nowrap | Hyundai i20 WRC | MON | SWE 5 | AUS 5 | GBR 5 | !rowspan=2 9th !rowspan=2 | 84 | ||||||||||
| 2016 ! nowrap | Hyundai Motorsport N !rowspan=2 nowrap | Hyundai i20 WRC | MON 25 | MEX 5 | ARG 1 | GER 5 | CHN C | FRA 6 | ESP 4 | GBR 4 | !rowspan=2 4th !rowspan=2 | 138 | ||||||
| 2017 ! nowrap | Hyundai Motorsport ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | MON Ret | SWE 7 | MEX 5 | FRA 6 | ARG 6 | POR Ret | ITA Ret | POL 2 | FIN Ret | GER 8 | ESP | GBR 8 | AUS 3 | ! 8th ! 74 | ||
| 2018 ! nowrap | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC | MON | SWE 5 | MEX | FRA | ARG | POR Ret | ITA 4 | FIN 4 | GER | TUR 3 | GBR 7 | ESP | AUS 2 | ! 8th ! 73 | ||
| 2019 !rowspan="2" nowrap | M-Sport Ford WRT ! nowrap | Ford Fiesta WRC | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR | ITA | FIN WD | GER | TUR | ESP | AUS | !rowspan="2" NC !rowspan="2" | 0 | |
| 2022 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | MON | SWE | CRO | POR | ITA | KEN | EST | FIN | BEL | GRE | NZL | ESP | JPN | ! 21st ! 8 | ||
| 2007 ! nowrap | Paddon Direct Team Green ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII | MON | SWE | ARG | GRE | NZL 17 | JPN | IRE | !rowspan=2 NC !rowspan=2 | 0 | ||
| 2008 ! nowrap | Paddon Direct Team Green ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | SWE | ARG | GRE | TUR | FIN | NZL 4 | JPN | GBR | ! 21st ! 5 | ||
| 2010 !rowspan=2 nowrap | Pirelli Star Driver ! nowrap | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX | SWE | MEX | JOR | NZL 1 | JPN 2 | 3rd | 97 | ||||
| 2011 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Subaru Impreza WRX STi | SWE | POR 1 | ARG 1 | FIN 1 | AUS 1 | ESP 8 | GBR | 1st | 104 | ||
| 2012 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Škoda Fabia S2000 | MON | SWE 4 | POR 1 | NZL 1 | FIN Ret | GBR 7 | FRA Ret | ESP 5 ! 4th ! 78 |
| 2013 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Škoda Fabia S2000 | MON | SWE | MEX | POR | ARG | GRE | ITA | FIN 3 | GER 3 | AUS 5 | FRA | ESP | GBR ! 13th ! 40 |
| 2022 ! nowrap | Hayden Paddon ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | MON | SWE | CRO | POR | ITA | KEN | EST | FIN | BEL | GRE | NZL | ESP | JPN ! 10th ! 43 |
| 2019 ! nowrap | M-Sport Ford WRT ! nowrap | Ford Fiesta R5 Mk. II | MON | SWE | MEX | FRA | ARG | CHL | POR | ITA | FIN | GER | TUR | GBR 4 | ESP | AUS ! 8th ! 12 |
| 2013 ! nowrap | Symtech Racing ! nowrap | Ford Fiesta S2000 | JÄN | LIE | CAN | AZO | COR | YPR Ret | ROM | ZLÍ | POL | CRO | SAN | VAL ! 62nd ! 5 |
| 2022 ! nowrap | Paddon Rallysport ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | AZO1 | AZO2 | CAN | Rally Poland | LAT 6 | ITA | CZE | ESP | ! 29th ! 15 | |||
| 2023 ! nowrap | BRC Racing Team ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | PRT 1 | CAN 2 | Rally Poland 2 | LAT 2 | SWE 2 | ITA 3 | CZE Ret | Rally Hungary | ! style="background:#FFFFBF;" 1st ! style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 163 | ||
| 2024 ! nowrap | BRC Racing Team ! nowrap | Hyundai i20 N Rally2 | Rally Hungary 4 | CAN 6 | SWE 3 | Rally Estonia 5 | ITA 6 | CZE 12 | GBR 1 | Rally Silesia 3 | ! style="background:#FFFFBF;" 1st ! style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 145 |
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