Before the Welsh ERC round, held at the turn of August and September, Paddon mentioned that the event could be his last international competition. Ultimately, Paddon won the Rali Ceredigion, but his second consecutive European Championship title hasn’t been secured just yet.
Paddon holds a 27-point lead over second-placed Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi heading into the ERC season finale at the Rally Silesia. Paddon confirmed on his social media channels this week that he has found a way to compete in Poland as well.
“This could be our last European rally as our plans for next year are elsewhere in the world,” Paddon stated.
Paddon said to Dirtfish that after his victorious rally in Wales, he returned home to New Zealand and began working on the budget for the trip to Poland.
“We’ve achieved our first target of getting to the start, now we have to get to the finish. It would have been a bit of a nightmare to sit at home watching this one. To be honest I’m not sure what I would have done – maybe there would have been a little bit of hiding behind the sofa,” joked Paddon, who doesn’t need to finish in the top positions to secure the European title.
“It’s already been an incredible year. Now we want to bring this one home for all of our partners – and, of course, it would be great to deliver another championship for Hyundai and the i20 N Rally2.”
The Rally Silesia will take place from 11th to 13th October.
Paddon, 37, ended his career in the main class of the WRC after the 2018 season. He has competed in a total of 83 WRC events, with his only victory coming in Argentina in 2016.
