The round-by-round winners:
V-Híd Rally Hungary:
Simone Tempestini/Sergiu Itu (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)
Rally Islas Canarias:
Yoann Bonato/Benjamin Boulloud (Citroën C3 Rally2)
BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia:
Oliver Solberg/Elliott Edmondson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)
Delfi Rally Estonia:
Georg Linnamäe/James Morgan (Toyota GR Yaris Rally2)
Rally di Roma Capitale:
Andrea Crugnola/Pietro Ometto (Citroën C3 Rally2)
Barum Czech Rally Zlín:
Dominik Stříteský/Jiří Hovorka (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)
JDS Machinery Rali Ceredigion:
Hayden Paddon/John Kennard (Hyundai i20 N Rally2)
Rally Silesia:
Andrea Mabellini/Virginia Lenzi (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)
The points:
Drivers
1: Hayden Paddon (NZL), 145
2: Mathieu Franceschi (FRA), 124
3: Mikko Marczyk (POL), 109
4: Andrea Mabellini (ITA), 101
5: Jon Armstrong (IRL), 88
6: Simone Tempestini (ROU), 59
7: Mads Østberg (NOR), 51
8: Yoann Bonato (FRA), 49
9: Simon Wagner (AUT), 49
10: Efrén Llarena (ESP), 45
Co-Drivers
1: John Kennard (NZL), 145
2: Andy Malfoy (FRA), 124
3: Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL), 109
4: Virginia Lenzi (ITA), 101
5: Eoin Treacy (IRL), 88
6: Sergiu Itu (ROU), 59
7: Patrik Barth (SWE), 51
8: Benjamin Boulloud (FRA), 49
9: Sara Fernández (ESP), 45
10: Igor Bacigál (SVK), 44
The title in short:
New Zealander Hayden Paddon became only the fourth driver in the 71-year history of the FIA European Rally Championship to take back-to-back titles having become the first driver not flying a European flag to win the title in 2023. Piloting a Pirelli-equipped Hyundai i20 N Rally2 for BRC Racing Team, Paddon became a double champion the hard way after early setbacks kept him off the podium until round three. He didn’t register a win until the penultimate event of the season due to what he described as a “performance deficit”. But his pace and perseverance ultimately paid dividends alongside John Kennard, his co-driver of 19 seasons.
The champion said?
“It’s been the same the same throughout my whole career, I’m always in it to try to win it and I’m prepared to work hard. If you haven’t achieved [something] then you go home and reset and think what have you got to do, what have you got to change. In this sport you’ve got to keep moving forward and an FIA title means a lot to any driver. We worked all year to achieve it. We’ve had our backs up against the wall for the best part of the season with a performance deficit. Up until about round five I thought we had no chance this year, we were struggling a lot, I didn’t think we had the package but the team dug deep. Mathieu Franceschi put us under a lot of pressure all year, he definitely had the better first half of the season but we had a bit more consistency in the second half of the season. Consistency has been our key this year, just biding the time and being patient, which is not easy when you are a competitive person.”
Monaco
Spain
Turkey