Not many people still believed that Paddon, who last competed in Hyundai’s top team back in the 2018 season, would ever return to the top category of the World Rally Championship. However, that is exactly what happened when Hyundai announced late last year that three different drivers would share the team’s third car this season.
In addition to Paddon, Esapekka Lappi and Dani Sordo will also take turns at the wheel of the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 car. Hyundai put strong faith in experience, which led many critics to wonder why no younger driver was given a chance this time either. However, a longer-term strategy also clearly underpins the Korean manufacturer’s decisions.
The WRC regulations will change for the 2027 season, when the current Rally1 cars will be consigned to history and replaced by the new-generation WRC27 cars. These machines will be less powerful than the current cars, but their price tag will also be cut by around half, a move intended to attract more manufacturers to the championship. Under the new rules, private teams will also have significantly better opportunities to enter the top category.
Hyundai has stated that it will not build an entirely new car, but will instead develop its current Rally2 car towards the 2027 season. The new top-category cars will largely resemble today’s Rally2 machinery, meaning that with intensive development work it could be possible to fight for rally victories even with Rally2-based cars.
Paddon has more than a decade of experience with Hyundai Rally2 cars. In recent years, he has competed successfully in Hyundai machinery both in his home country of New Zealand and in series such as the European Rally Championship, where he fought for titles. Sordo, meanwhile, has spent the past two seasons driving for Hyundai in the Portuguese rally championship. Lappi also has recent experience of Rally2 machinery, albeit with rival Škoda equipment.
Paddon admitted to RallyJournal.com in December that development work on the Rally2 car is also planned for this year.
“For sure. We’re one team. And you know, I’ve been with Hyundai for 12 years now, so for sure we’ll help where we can and be involved where we can. We’re not sure what the program is, but for sure there’ll be some things,” Paddon said.
“And we’ve been developing our car in New Zealand on the gravel. Obviously in Europe they’ve been doing a lot on tarmac. So yeah, I think the car is good, it’s a good base and I think there’s more to come.”
Although Hyundai’s Rally2 car has not celebrated success in the WRC in recent years, the experienced Sordo and Paddon have shown many times that it is capable of strong performances. While Paddon did not directly reveal a detailed plan, the entire trio of veterans is certain to complete plenty of testing in addition to around four to six WRC rallies.
As mentioned, many no longer believed that Paddon would return to the very top of the World Rally Championship. The New Zealander, however, continued to believe in his own dream.
“It was a long time ago. But we’ve never given up. We’ve always been realistic but we’ve, you know, European champions and we’ve been pushing with the Hyundai Rally2 car and doing as many rallies and things around the world as possible. So that’s it,” Paddon summed up.
