Paddon and Kennard survived a late scare on the penultimate stage of the rally when the left front shock on their Rally2-spec Hyundai i20 N failed.

They had been just 12 seconds behind rally leaders Harry Bates and Coral Taylor after SS12 but dropped back nearly three and a half minutes by SS13 as they limped to the finish.

All told, Paddon was third and nearly four minutes off rally winners Bates and Taylor by the end of SS14 – enough to secure the title.

Lewis Bates and Anthony McLoughlin were second in the rally and second in the championship.

Paddon came into the final round of the Australian Rally Championship as the favourite with an 85-point lead over Lewis Bates and only 100 points on offer.

Still, the Kiwi needed to finish the rally to take the title.

At the end of the final stage, Paddon paid tribute to countryman Possum Bourne.

Bourne won the Australian Rally Championship on seven occasions with Subaru and was a stalwart of the scene throughout the 1990s and 2000s until his untimely death in 2003.

This year’s title is Paddon’s first in the Australian Rally Championship.

“It’s probably the slowest way we’ve ever won a championship, just nursing the car through,” said Paddon.

“I did what we had to do. Obviously this was the goal for the whole year. The work that the team and everything they’ve done away from home, I couldn’t do it without them all.

“Hasn’t been the best way to finish it, but anyway, we did all the hard work throughout the year. Just a huge credit to everyone that’s helped us and supported us, John in the car.

“Obviously, a lot of this is for Possum [Bourne]. He was my inspiration over the last couple of years to keep going, to come over and do something where he dominated is quite cool.

“I’ve loved it over here. Everyone’s been so welcoming. The rally brings new challenges for us and great competition with the Bates brothers, Scott [Pedder] and Alex [Rullo].

“We’ve loved it in all respects. We’ve done it on a shoestring budget, despite what others might think. It’s been done on a pretty tight budget. Pretty cool to tick it off the list.

“It’s something to add to John and my CV with everything we do around the world. It’s cool.”

Paddon was greeted at the finish line by a throng of fans from New Zealand, there to celebrate the title.

“We’re so lucky to have so much support,” he said.

“It’s the same wherever we go around the world. Across the ditch, it’s great the Kiwis have embraced this championship as well. Who knows what’s next?”

Asked about continuing in the championship into 2026, Paddon was non-committal.

“We’ll see,” he said.

“The old girl needs a bit of money spent on her now, so we’ll see what happens.”

Results: Australian Rally Championship, Rally Tasmania (top 10)