Paddon heading to ARC
The Australian Rally Championship will be boosted by the arrival of Kiwi WRC rally winner Hayden Paddon.
Paddon has already made a number of appearances down under, but 2025 will be his first full campaign and it appears the Bates brothers will have a fierce new rival.
Racing under his Paddon Racing Group outfit, the 37-year-old will steer a Hyundai i20N Rally2 at all six rounds.
Paddon has almost a decade’s worth of WRC experience, highlighted by becoming the only New Zealander to win a rally on the biggest stage at the 2016 Rally Argentina.
He made his WRC debut on home soil back in 2007 and did not get his first full WRC season until 2015 with Hyundai, while 2016 was his most successful year finishing fourth in the standings.
After leaving Hyundai in 2018, Paddon has only started four WRC events with the most recent his home event in 2022.
But he has not stopped slowing down, taking back to back European Rally Championship titles.
In addition to annually competing in the Rally Australia WRC round, he has also made an ARC start in 2019 that formed part of his successful APRC Pacific Cup pursuit.
Having also returned in 2022 Paddon is looking forward to a full season in Australia.
“I’m really excited to finally put together a campaign for the Australian Rally Championship,” said Paddon.
“It’s something we have been trying to make happen for a couple of years. It’s a championship that we have not yet tried our hand at, and the level of competition and events was something that has been an appeal while watching from the other side of the Tasman.
“We are under no illusions that it will be a tough challenge – up against some very fast competition on unfamiliar events/terrain.
“But we will treat it like any other rally or championships that we compete in, and know we have the best team with PRG and a strong package with the Hyundai i20N Rally2 to give our best shot.
“It is a bit special to compete in Australia especially after the many years of success that Possum Bourne had there and watching that as a kid. To now take our own Kiwi team across the ditch and rejuvenate that trans-tasman rivalry is going to be an exciting and fun challenge.
“We know from previous times we have competed in Australia that everyone is very welcoming which adds to the experience.”
The 2025 ARC season begins in Canberra on March 21-23.
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