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“Unfortunately, the smallest of driving errors has put paid to our goal of cruising through Sunday’s six stages and also to our championship hopes,” said a bitterly disappointed Paddon.
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“We were taking it really easy all day in the tricky muddy conditions and taking absolutely no risks.”
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By the end of the morning’s three stages, Paddon had a lead of nearly two minutes over Irishman Craig Breen who had moved into second. The afternoon’s first repeated stage, special stage 20, was to bring a sad end to Paddon’s rally.
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“It was the smallest of mistakes, running slightly wide on a muddy, tight right hand corner – a first gear corner – and the rear wheel slightly touched the grass. This then sucked the car into the grass-filled ditch where we were stuck. While we had two wheels of the car still on the road, we just could not get the car out.”
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Officially out of the rally, Paddon watched Breen take the SWRC category win in France. Paddon’s SWRC championship hopes have ended with no chance of beating Breen, P-G Andersson or Yazeed Al Rajhi who are now in a three-way fight for the championship title in Spain in November.
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Breen said: “It’s been an up and down rally and we’re extremely lucky with what happened to Hayden. He was so unlucky because it was so easy to go off where he did.”
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Paddon concludes: “I’m a little lost for words right now, in a year that has never really got going like we would have liked. A huge thanks for all the support that we have had and to our BRR team who have all done a great job. This is the first mistake that I have made like this in the past three years – and it come at the completely wrong time. As always there are lessons to be learned and I hope that we will come back faster and stronger.”
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Dozens of comments on Paddon’s Facebook page highlight the support and belief that rally fans have in Paddon, who last year became the first New Zealander to win a world rally championship.
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