Paddon to drive for Omagh-based team

TWO-TIME European Rally Champion Hayden Paddon will make his Wilton Recycling Donegal International Rally debut this weekend when he drives the Omagh-based C&M Motorsports Sales Hyundai i20 N machine.

The New Zealander has been drafted in for the event to fill the void left by regular team driver, Matt Edwards, who has decided to take a step back after a few difficult weeks for the sport and him personally.

On Sunday night [of last week], the three-time British champion announced the news on his Social Media platforms, stating that the recent incidents in Scotland, where Welsh co-driver, Dai Roberts, lost his life; in Cavan, where Garry Jennings and Brian Hoy were badly injured, and in Barbados, where Stuart Maloney and co-driver Kristian Yearwood were injured, were ‘particularly close to home’ and have resulted in him making ‘the sensible but difficult decision’ to withdraw from the Donegal International Rally.

Edwards withdrawal from Donegal, where he was seeded fifth, then left the C&M Motorsports team, who ‘fully respect’ the driver’s decision, with a hole to fill in their line-up for the hugely popular event. On Monday morning, in their statement confirming the Welshman’s decision, they admitted that work had been going on behind the scenes to see if they would be able to keep the No 5 on the door of a C&M Motorsports Hyundai i20 Rally 2 for the event.

And by the Monday evening they announced on Social Media that they had not only achieved that aim as one member of the original entry, co-driver Dave Moynihan, will remain in the car but the person behind the wheel of the number 5 Hyundai would be none other than World Rally Championship event winner, Hayden Paddon.

The Kiwi, who recently won the latest round of the Australian Rally Championship, said in the confirmation video on C&M Motorsport Sales Facebook page that he was relishing the opportunity.

“Really looking forward to finally coming over to Ireland to do some rallying,” he said. “It was a last minute call, but we’re super-excited to come over for the Wilton Recycling-sponsored Donegal International Rally.

“It’s a rally that’s talked about a lot and one that’s always been on the bucket list, so to come over this year, even on short notice, is something I’m very excited for, so a big thanks to Marty [McKenna] and the whole C&M Motorsports team for making this opportunity possible.”

Paddon’s addition to the Donegal International Rally is certainly a boost for the event after former WRC star Kris Meeke also pulled out on the back of Hoy’s injuries sustained in the Cavan crash alongside Jennings.