Motorsport: Hayden Paddon crashes out in Italy

Hayden Paddon and John Kennard at WRC rally in Italy June 2016 Photo / TIMO ANIS

Kiwi rally driver Hayden Paddon has suffered another major blow at the World Rally Championship in Italy.

Paddon rolled on the final corner of stage seven of Rally Italy on the island of Sardinia, severely damaging the rear of his newly rebuilt Hyundai i20 and forcing him to retire.

Paddon and his co-driver John Kennard are okay.

It's their first event since their car was engulfed in flames following an off-road excursion at Rally Portugal last month.

Paddon says he's incredibly disappointed and sorry that he let everyone down again from another silly mistake.

He says they'll bounce back and he hopes this is just a small dip we are going through to help us to be stronger for the future.

His Hyundai team-mate Thierry Neuville leads Rally Italy, with a 11 point one second advantage over Jari-Matti Latvala.

On Facebook, Paddon wrote to his 210,000 followers: "No words....incredibly disappointed and sorry that I let everyone down again from another silly mistake. A serious rethink and reset needed to learn and come back stronger, but I'm the first to admit this isn't good enough. We will bounce back and I hope this is just a small dip we are going through to help us to be stronger for the future."