Kiwi Legend Hayden Paddon’s 2024 in Review
December 5, 2024

What a rally season we’ve enjoyed this year, both in New Zealand and Europe, with 14 events, over 300,000km of air travel, and many days away from home. But by defending our European Rally Championship, it made all the hard work and sacrifice worthwhile.

After a successful 2023, this year was structured around a similar calendar of joint New Zealand and European championships with the Hyundai i20 Rally2. A scheduling clash for round one meant that we missed Rally Otago, putting us on the back foot all season as we tried to play catch up in the New Zealand rally championship. The European championship was the main priority, and as defending champions, we knew we had a target painted on our back.  

With five podiums from six finishes in 2023, the goal for this year was to push for more rally wins in the European championship. It quickly became apparent at round one that the other teams and cars had made big developments over the offseason, while the package we had was unchanged. Motorsport is a big development race and if you’re standing still, you’re going backwards. This magnified small issues of punctures and technical dramas we had in the first half of the season, and we found ourselves on the back foot again. With just one podium from the first four rallies, we were really behind the eightball performance-wise. 

We knew we had to dig deep, and together with our Italian team, we left no stone unturned, constantly looking for every bit of performance from ourselves and the car. Finally, at the penultimate round, where it was really crunch time in the championship, things finally clicked. We found the missing ingredient and the car came alive, and by dominating Rally Wales, put us in a strong position going into the final round in Poland.  

Another podium in Poland while driving conservatively for the championship capped off what was a hugely difficult championship for us. It was absolutely vital we stayed patient throughout the year, and while accepting top five results along the way was a tough pill to swallow (I’m wired to win), it was vital to be picking up points and once everything clicked, we were able to pounce. “Never give up” was the motto of the season. 

Here in New Zealand, at the time of writing this, we still have one round remaining. It’s a long shot we can defend our New Zealand title after missing round one, but like what we learnt in the European championship this year, we will certainly not give up and keep pushing on some of the most enjoyable rally roads in the world.

While the 2024 season is yet to be completed, planning is well under way for 2025, and a pivot in our plans and goals. After two successful years in Europe, it’s time to turn our attention closer to home and get our New Zealand team offshore to expand our international experience. Long term, we want to build a Kiwi world championship winning team. The next step towards that is our whole team competing offshore. While we’re still in the planning stages, we’re looking at the likes of Australia and America, but also pushing forward on technology development in the EV/Hydrogen Motorsport space which is a flagship for our team to showcase our highly skilled team members and give us a point of difference.  

It has been a true honour to continue to share this journey with Mitre 10 Trade and their customers. Whether it be at Trade Breakfasts, rally ride days, or other events, it’s always a highlight for us to meet so many good people and share stories from events we’ve competed in around the world. We look forward to meeting even more customers with some unique and exclusive events soon. 

Thanks for all your support - we’re looking forward to catching up with you in-store or at an event soon. 

Thanks, 

Hayden Paddon

What's happening across the Mitre 10 network, prize winner announcements, Trade Hub releases and more.

Get updated on Hayden Paddon's rally season and hear more about exciting Mitre 10 partnerships and sponsorships.

Find out about the latest innovations from our leading trade suppliers and be the first to hear about hot new product releases and more.

Mitre 10 Trade customer profiles, local legends, Women in Trade, The Great Apprentice Race and more.