Motorsport: Paddon leaving 'annus horribilis' in Australia

Hayden Paddon during the SS12 Amarante of the WRC Portugal on May 2. Photo / Getty Images

In many ways Sunday night can't come quick enough for Kiwi rally driver Hayden Paddon.

The year has not been kind to the 30-year-old and he is looking forward to drawing a line in the sand after this weekend's season finale in Australia.

His year started off badly when he was involved in an accident at Monte Carlo in January that resulted in the death of a spectator. That affected him naturally and he started behind the eight-ball as many of his rivals got better equipped with the new 2017-spec cars. He essentially was playing catch-up on the next few rallies and the results didn't come.

Throw in a handful of mistakes, a Hyundai i20 that broke too easily compared to their rivals and some upheaval in his personal life and you can start to understand why his form appears to have deserted him this year.

Recently Hyundai signed Andreas Mikkelsen and now have four contracted drivers with only three cars at most events next year. That will likely mean Paddon will be in a job share, which has not amused the Kiwi.

All in all it has been the year from hell but Paddon is hoping that with the pressure off in the closest event to home he might be able to salvage something to take into 2018.

"It is obviously the intention to try and have a good rally and put the last 10-11 months behind us and use this event as sort of a teaser to get the rhythm and get things back heading into 2018," Paddon told The Herald.

"There are definitely mixed feelings. I do enjoy this rally. I enjoy the stages here - some of the stages here are my favourite of the year so there will be that pleasure aspect of being able to drive a world rally car on some of these nice stages but there is also an aspect of just get this year finished, putting it behind us and moving on."

M-Sport Ford claimed the manufacturers' title and Sebastien Ogier the drivers' title at last month's Wales Rally Great Britain so there isn't a lot riding on the outcome of this week's event.

In many ways it lifts all the pressure off Paddon and he can simply attack it as a stand-alone event.

"I think it is certainly quite a relaxed rally for everyone," Paddon said. "There is not really much to play for in terms of the championship. Everyone is here really to basically try and get individual success here alone.

"From my side there isn't really that pressure as such from the team - it is probably just pressure from myself to get back to normal and get things going in the right direction.

"To be honest it really is just about enjoyment this weekend. Some of that enjoyment factor has gone a little bit this year so it is really just about getting that back. If we can do that then the results and the competitiveness will naturally come back with that."

And Paddon believes a good result is possible given his liking for the stages and the fact he will start the rally 10th on the road and with the surface swept clean.

"I enjoy the stages, it naturally suits my style better and we have a good road position - if all those factors come together a good result is possible. I would love to be on the podium - we should have had a podium here last year but we had a last minute puncture that cost us so it would be nice to try and put that right."