Hayden Paddon says his run to second at Rally Paraguay “felt like a win” and provided an answer to those who “thought we were a bit of a joke of a signing”.
The New Zealander returned to the WRC’s top flight this season for the first time since 2018 after Hyundai signed the driver alongside Dani Sordo and Esapekka Lappi to share its third factory i20 N Rally1 car.
Hyundai initially offered Paddon and co-driver John Kennard an asphalt programme, with the pair competing in Monte Carlo, Croatia and Japan. However, the 2016 Rally Argentina winner, who favours gravel over asphalt, was handed an extra outing on gravel in Paraguay.
Paddon made the most of his first gravel event in the i20 N Rally1, emerging with the rally lead on Friday, before going on to finish second behind winner Toyota’s Sami Pajari. The podium was Paddon’s second of his four-round programme, after recently inheriting third following Thierry Neuville’s final stage crash in Croatia.
ENCARNACION, PARAGUAY – AUGUST 30: Juha Kankkunen, Sami Pajari and Marko Salminen of Finland and Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Hayden Paddon and John Kennard of New Zealand and Adrien Fourmaux and Alexandre Coria of France representing Hyundai World Rally Team celebrate at the finish podium during Rally del Paraguay, Round 11 of the 2026 FIA World Rally Championship on August 30, 2026 in Encarnacion, Paraguay
Photo by: (Photo by McKlein Photography/LAT Images via Getty Images
“This one feels like a proper podium. It feels like a win to be fair. I think a lot of people had written us off, a lot of people probably thought we were a bit of a joke of a signing this year. But a lot of people believed in me, and we believed in ourselves,” said an emotional Paddon at the finish.
“So this goes to show you never ever give up. Dream, dare to believe in your dream. It is good for myself just to know that we can still be competitive, knowing there’s a lot more as well as we learn the car.
“But a massive thanks to Hyundai with this opportunity this year, we’ve just absolutely loved it. For our Kiwi supporters, our own PRG team back at home for allowing me to still do this. And of course John [Kennard], 22 years [we have been together].
“We don’t know what’s next, but this has been one hell of a journey. He’s an absolute legend. We’ve gone around in full circles, I don’t know how many times, but this is a pretty special one.”
Paddon’s WRC future remains unclear now that his 2026 programme with Hyundai has been completed. The New Zealander will continue to work with the Korean brand to develop its upgraded Rally2 car that is expected to contest the WRC next year.
“No idea [what is next] we have some events back in New Zealand and have some testing coming up with the team [helping them towards the future. There are a lot of things happening so let’s see,” he added.
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– The Autosport.com Team
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