Hayden Paddon admits his return World Rally Championship event at Monte Carlo has been one of the most mentally and physically challenging rallies of his life.
Paddon and co-driver John Kennard placed 11th on the icy asphalt roads, just outside the points.
The Kiwis were sitting seventh overall by theend of Friday, but were caught out by worsening weather and road conditions on day three, slipping off the 29.93km Special Stage 12 into a paddock.
Fans helped them get the car back on the road, but the time delay dropped them to 13th overnight. They came through Sunday’s final four stages unscathed to improve to 11th.
Paddon said their main objective was getting to the finish.
“I knew it was going to be a big learning process, and the conditions made that learning process a lot harder than it should have been.
“Sometimes we had some good splits, less than a second a kilometre off the times of our teammates, so there were a few positives but we didn’t put it together consistently enough over the weekend.
“Conditions were very hard to be learning the car as well.”
Paddon admits he has dreaded returning to Monaco since getting the call-up six weeks ago.
Hayden Paddon at Rally Monte Carlo. Photo / Hyundai Motorsport
“I never wanted to come back to this place, but it was obviously an amazing opportunity and I’ve loved it.
“From this, I think I can move forward now, it’s like a weight off my shoulders. To be fair, I probably should have come back here eight years ago. I thought I moved on, but when I got told I was coming back, this has been the most challenging six weeks of my life. But I’m a professional, and I knew what my job was to do.
“The conditions were tougher than what everyone expected and it didn’t get any easier as the rally went on. The margin for error was very small, knowing our job was to finish the rally.
“Driving was a balancing act which I struggled to get right. But it’s Monte Carlo, and you’ve got to remind yourself you’re very lucky to be here.”
Paddon is sharing Hyundai’s third car with Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo, so the manufacturer will reveal when the Kiwis will get another turn on the WRC circuit.
Finnish pairing Lappi and Enni Malkonen will be in control for Rally Sweden in the middle of next month.
Swede Oliver Solberg, 24, became the youngest-ever winner of Rallye Monte-Carlo. Teammates Elfyn Evans and Sebastian Ogier completed a podium lockout for Toyota.
Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.
