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Paddon pulls through for second place finish in Poland

2 July, 2017

Local boy Hayden Paddon, along with new British co-driver Sebastian Marshall, secured their best finish in a WRC rally since Paddon’s win in Argentina last year. The pair finished second place in Poland behind teammates Thierry Neuville and Nicolas Gilsou, making for Hyundai Motorsport’s first one-two finish since Germany 2014.





The team no doubt stoked with the finish after a slow start on day one saw the pair sitting 40 seconds back in tricky conditions, which would close up to a third place standing after day two, and then with Norwegian Ott Tanak crashing out after battling Neuville for first, Paddon was free to squeeze on up.


“For us, it’s a massive relief … It’s been 12 months since we were last on the podium, and this year’s been some of the hardest times of my life … this weekend has helped me lower the shoulders and relax a little bit. This gives us a bit of momentum now that we can build on to work towards future rallies.”

Paddon and Marshall will next appear in Rally Finland, kicking off July 27.
 
 

Lunch with… Jim Palmer

16 April, 2025

In the 1960s, Hamilton’s Jim Palmer won the prestigious ‘Gold Star’ four times and was the first resident New Zealander home in the New Zealand Grand Prix on five consecutive occasions. He shared the podium with Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Bruce McLaren, Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Denny Hulme, Jackie Stewart, and Chris Amon. The extent of his domination of the open-wheeler scene in New Zealand will probably never be matched or exceeded. Yet he’s always been modest about his achievements.

NZ Classic Car magazine, May/June 2025 issue 399, on sale now

13 April, 2025

Who would have thought it would become such a worldwide motorsport star when Ford introduced the humble Escort in 1967?
Its popularity, particularly in Mark 1 form, is now of iconic status. Our cover story for this issue is on a 1968 Ford Escort Mark 1, Alan Mann Racing Tribute. We talked with the owner of this very special Escort, finished in tribute also to the owner’s father.
“Most children love speed, and motorsport typically comes courtesy of a parent, and Elliott is no different. His engineer father, Mark, had a love for motorcycles and going fast; however, when children came along, he swapped two wheels for four, in the form of two Ford Escorts.
Little did Mark know it at the time, but the humble Escort was about to weave its way into the family fabric once and for all.
After emigrating from London to New Zealand, Elliott recalled one evening when he was 14 being invited to tag along by his father, helping a friend convert an Escort road car into a racing car. This was the pivotal moment when Elliott remembers the motorsport bug taking over. He knew he had to have his own one.”