Paddon survives carnage for WRC podium in Croatia

As the saying goes – to finish first, first you must finish. That was certainly the case for the Rally1 competitors, of which only three were left standing by the end of the rally.

New Zealand’s Hayden Paddon was among them, claiming third for Hyundai in just his second FIA World Rally Championship start this season.

Paddon was a comfortable fourth for the duration of the rally until the final stage when his Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville crashed out of the lead.

That gifted Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta his second straight win, taking a 21.2s win over his teammate Sami Pajari. Paddon, meanwhile, was 2m7s back in third.

Paddon labelled the podium “bittersweet” in light of his teammate’s downfall.

“That wasn’t our expectation at the start, but we stuck to our plan all weekend,” said Paddon.

“It turned out to be one of those rallies that you had to survive.

“I had thought it wasn’t going to be an attrition rally, but I couldn’t have been more wrong on that.

“I’m gutted for the team when I know how much is going on behind the scenes and the hard work everyone puts in. They deserved the victory, Thierry as well.

“Our plan this weekend was to be within 0.5 seconds per kilometres of our teammates and to get to the finish.

“We did that, and we were there to pick up the pieces.

“We didn’t want to be picking up ‘these’ pieces, so it’s going to take a bit for this podium finish to sink in after seeing Thierry crash out on the final stage.”

It’s the first time Paddon has stood on the podium since 2018 at Rally Australia when he made his last WRC start with Hyundai before exiting the championship.

“It is hard to comprehend that we’re back on the WRC podium,” said Paddon.

“A bit surreal to do this again with John and it’s been a journey together over the last 20-plus years.

“As a tarmac rally, it’s been challenging. The difference when you’re at the WRC level, you’ve got to be on the limit so much and that’s when mistakes happen a lot more – punctures, etc.

“Other ERC rallies are equally challenging as this rally, and you’ve got to treat them with respect.

“In the WRC, you’re trying to drive hell for leather but sometimes you’ve also got to drive to the conditions.”

Toyota’s Oliver Solberg was the first to fall victim in Croatia, crashing on the first stage of the rally.

Having assumed an early lead, Elfyn Evans bombed out on SS3. That gave Pajari an early lead, who ended day one on top.

Ford’s Jon Armstrong was another early victim on day one. He slid his Puma into a kerb on SS4 and busted the right rear of his car.

Six cars remained in contention at the start of day two, though Josh McErlean was a distant sixth and four minutes off the lead.

Adrien Fourmaux crashed out of fifth when he struck a pole on SS12.

A spate of punctures on SS14 juggled the order as Pajari fell from the lead to third, while Neuville surged to top spot and Katsuta to second.

Neuville controlled the rally until SS20. He entered the final stage with a 1m15s lead only to crash and damage the right front of his Hyundai i20.

“First of all, I would like to express my apologies to the whole team – everybody who works with me throughout the whole year,” said Neuville.

“It’s a huge disappointment for Martijn and myself, we didn’t expect that but unfortunately the rally can strike even at the very last stage.

“We were driving according to plan, and our target was just to get through the stage, but unfortunately, we were surprised on that corner.

“I probably turned in a bit too early, and my first reaction was to open, and then the incident happened.

“It’s going to be a tough period for us but we have no choice but to come back stronger and keep fighting. We won’t give up and our time will come again.”

The FIA World Rally Championship returns on April 23-26 with Rally Islas Canarias.

Results: FIA World Rally Championship, Croatia Rally