Summerfield had a puncture late on stage two to drop nearly 30 seconds to Hawkeswood while Sloan Cox's Mitsubishi got stuck in first gear. Dylan Turner also suffered a tyre drama in his Audi.
Reigning series champion David Holder was looking good in second place before he popped a tyre off his Holden's rim on the final stage of the morning loop.
Paddon dominated the afternoon stages that had already been run in the morning. It meant he had no loose gravel to sweep aside and took full advantage to open up a phenomenal lead.
After a shocking WRC season Paddon had the bounce back in the step and a smile on his face at the service park at Raglan Airport and he won all six stages on Saturday.
While he made it look easy the day was not a simple procedure for the 30-year-old. The hot and dusty conditions were particularly hard on tyres.
"The roads are like tarmac – it is unbelievable how much gravel has been swept off – and you do have to drive it like tarmac," Paddon said. "You just can't throw the car around. It is actually quite challenging in those conditions."
This is just the second rally that Paddon has contested back home this year so he isn't in title contention.
Hawkeswood is as close as he's ever been in a career that is well into a third decade however. He needs only to remain in front or finish one spot behind Summerfield to claim the title.
Despite a slow start to the day he kept the car straight and drove a smart day to avoid drama.
"We just wanted to dip our toe in the water this morning and see what everyone else was doing and then just go from there," he said.
"We tried our hardest."
Sunday's six stages are located in the Rotorua region.
Overnight results
1. Hayden Paddon (Hyundai)
2. Andrew Hawkeswood (Mazda) +4:58.0s
3. Matt Summerfield (Subaru) +5:13.6s
4. Josh Marston (Holden) +5:43.0s
5. Graham Featherstone (Mitsubishi) +5:53.5s
6. David Holder (Holden) +7:13.6s
