Paddon World Champion

Hi

We have done it !! We are Production World Rally Champions!!!!!

It is an amazing feeling and it certainly has not sunk in yet.  Today has been a very long day, anxiously counting down the stages to the finish while taking it easy to protect our lead.  We had a small scare on the penultimate stage after nudging a bank, which served as a reality check, encouraging us to take it easier and make the finish.

We ended up winning PWRC here in Australia by 1min 30second, winning 14 of the 23 stages.  It hasn’t been an easy weekend, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it, especially having to fight back yesterday after our problems.

Huge thanks to everyone who has helped and supported us, both in getting here this year and with assistance throughout the year.  It means a lot and makes a big difference!  Huge thanks too to the team, who have done an incredible job over the weekend. It is an amazing feeling to win a world championship with my mates who have helped me over so many years!  A huge thank you to Math, AD, Neil, Rob, Mike, Sue, Choice, Gareth and Jackie.  Also huge thanks to Dad, John and Katie, who have put in a lot over the years.  It is hard to thank everyone, but you know who you are and THANK YOU!

Huge thanks to Robbie Leicester and Nicola Fitchett too, for the opportunity to drive their awesome Subaru in New Zealand this year and again here in Australia.  Their support has meant a lot to us and has helped us capture the PWRC title.

Finally, but by no means least, a huge thanks to our Symtech Team in Belgium.  They have done an amazing job all year, preparing and running a great car to allow us to be in a position to win the championship this weekend.  It is unfortunate that they were not here with us, but they were a huge part in allowing us to achieve our goal.  Thanks Dirk, Wim, Rui, Haggis, Steve, Mike, Pascal and Jurek. We still have two more rallies with them this year, in Spain and GB which I am really looking forward to.

You can see our video blog on the following link.

We will have more information and material over the next few days once I get home. In the meantime it is time to go celebrate with our awesome tour group of Kiwis here in Coffs Harbour.

Thanks, Hayden

PHOTOS: Alan MacDonald and Michael Young

This article originally appeared on aprc.tv.

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