Driving the M-Sport Ford Fiesta car in which he was due to make his one-off World Rally Championship return, Cromwell-based Paddon encountered a rock in the middle of a sixth-gear corner, which lifted the front of the car off line and the rest is history at that speed on a narrow section of stage, he said.
The damage sustained means he and New Zealand co-driver John Kennard are unable to start the Finnish event and there is not enough time to ship another car out from M-Sport's base in England for the rally, before its start tomorrow.
M-Sport Ford world rally team principal Rich Millener absolved Paddon of blame for the accident.
''A rock has been pulled out on one run, he turned the car around, went back up the same stretch of road only to find that rock in the middle of a blind, sixth-gear right-hander,'' Millener said.
''The rock hit the bottom of the sump guard and lifted the car into the air. They were just passengers, nothing they could do about it.
''You can't go into every corner lifting off in case you've pulled a rock out. It's the nature of testing.
''You're always going to be the first person to find anything you've pulled out on the previous run,'' he told wrc.com.
Paddon was bitterly disappointed about his first WRC test crash but remained philosophical.
''This is the game we play - it's fine margins. Good or bad, it's also why we love our sport. We are lucky to do what we do, but we and many people behind us in New Zealand work hard to make it happen,'' he said.
''I'm as gutted as anyone but also respect these things happen. If you can't accept this sort of stuff no matter the circumstances or the event, then I might as well stay at home and play chess,'' he said in a social media post.
What future Paddon has now in the WRC is up in the air. He did not get a drive with Hyundai this season and was given this lifeline by Ford.
It now has ended without getting to the start line. Paddon, who moved to his Cromwell base earlier this year, will have to consider his future although he has other motorsport options in the pipeline.
