Paddon has other commitments when Rally Otago is raced on April 7-9. He will be lining up at the
Tour de Corse WRC rally in Corsica that weekend.
Paddon was totally dominant in last year’s rally, winning every stage and finishing more than 9min ahead of the runner-up. He also won the rally in 2015.
This year, Paddon has combined with his manufacturer, Hyundai, to field a team to contest all six championship rounds of the New Zealand Rally Championship.
The drivers will use the Hyundai i20 AP4+ spec car launched so successfully by Paddon in 2016.
First into the driver’s seat is defending New Zealand rally champion David Holder, who will contest the NZRC’s two April events, the Otago Rally and the International Rally of Whangarei.
Holder, originally from Invercargill and now based in Tauranga, won the 2016 NZRC title with one round to go.The 27-year-old considers it a huge privilege to have the opportunity to represent both Hyundai New Zealand and Paddon Rallysport.
"Driving for a manufacturer-based team, spearheaded by a WRC star is something you dream about," he said.
"When Hayden approached me mid-last year, it was both surprising and hugely exciting. Clearly, we want to do our best for the team and help win the 2017 manufacturers’ title, but need to be realistic in our expectations, and will work with Hayden and the team to plan our approach to each event to extract the best from me and the car."
Jason Farmer will be in the co-driver’s seat for Holder.
Taking the wheel for the Hyundai team in June’s Rally Canterbury and Rally Waikato in October will be Job Quantock, the 22-year-old who won the inaugural Hyundai New Zealand Young Driver Scholarship in December last year. Paddon will race in the other two NZRC events, Rally Coromandel in August and the two-day Tauranga-based Rally New Zealand in November.
