Production World Rally Champion, Hayden Paddon, has walked away with only a broken collarbone after his car plunged 200 metres down a virtually sheer cliff in New Zealand.
The accident happened on Saturday when he was hosting corporate rides in a Subaru Impreza WRX.
A suspension failure caused Paddon and his passenger to leave the road at about 140km/h and become airborne for much of the plunge, landing tail-first before rolling the rest of the way to the creek below.
The passenger was uninjured.
"During one of our runs we had a mechanical malfunction that caused the car to veer straight off the road on a fast right-hand corner at around 140km,h," Paddon said.
"The consequence was a sheer 200m drop to the creek at the bottom which the car rolled down many times.
"It is amazing how well the car stood up and a real testament to the safety regulations of our sport," he said.
"Unfortunately, I suffered a broken collarbone."
Paddon described it as a small setback that did not stop him flying to Britain on Sunday for a test with an unnamed World Rally Championship team.
After his test in Britain, Paddon will fly to India where he will attend the FIA's annual awards and pick up his PWRC trophy.
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