Paddon won the European Rally Championship last year in a Hyundai i20 N Rally2 car. He was a regular in the World Rally Championship for many years and secured his only WRC victory in the 2016 Rally Argentina, also with Hyundai.
Paddon currently leads this season’s European Championship and is chasing success in this weekend’s new round in Wales. On Friday’s qualifying stage, Paddon set the fastest time, ahead of Frenchman Mathieu Franceschi, his main rival for the championship.
Paddon’s international career began 17 years ago in Wales.
“It could be the last. If it is, it would be ironic given that this was my first international event (Rally GB) in 2007. In 17 years, I’ve come full circle,” Paddon told Dirtfish.
“My relationship with Hyundai New Zealand is a very strong relationship, I can’t turn my back on that and we’re doing some good projects with them back at home,” Paddon added.
Paddon, 37, mentioned that he is still in discussions about his future, but the Rali Ceredigion in Wales could mark the end of his international career.
“There may not be a lot of opportunity for me to be involved with the brand in Europe next year,” Paddon admitted.
Paddon lost his WRC seat with Hyundai after the 2018 season. Since then, he has tried to make a comeback to the top level of the sport, but the doors have remained closed.
The New Zealand star has an impressive resume. He has seven New Zealand championships, the 2012 WRC PWRC class title, a couple of international TER series championships, and, of course, a WRC rally victory.
“I think we could have achieved more. In saying that you can’t focus on that, you’ve got to appreciate the opportunities that you’ve had and we’ve enjoyed it. We’ve met a lot of good people, done some amazing things, made life memories, so it’s been pretty cool.”
“As a driver though, I’ve still got a lot more to give and hopefully (will) be going for a number of years yet, just maybe in different parts of the world.”
The Welsh ERC tarmac event starts on Friday evening with two super special stages and concludes on Sunday.
