The two-time winner of the FIA European Rally Championship has been invited to the Sydney showpiece from 7 - 8 March when he will also form part of Team NZ, which is being represented in the knockout event for the first time.
“To be part of the Race Of Champions and especially represent the first Team NZ in ROC is a dream come true for me,” said Paddon, one of only four drivers to have won back-to-back ERC titles. “I’ve been watching the Race Of Champions every year since my hero Colin McRae won ROC in Gran Canaria, always hoping that one day I would be invited to compete.”
Paddon’s two ERC titles in a BRC Racing Team-run, Pirelli-equipped Hyundai i20 N Rally2 have come alongside co-driver and fellow New Zealander John Kennard.
“It’s a true honour to be able to represent New Zealand and compete against some of the best of the best,” Paddon continued. “New Zealand has always proudly punched above its weight in world motorsport and this will be a chance for myself and my team-mate, whoever that ends up being, to really fly the Kiwi flag on the world stage.
“I hope many New Zealand fans will join me in Sydney now that this unique event is coming to this part of the world for the first time. March cannot come soon enough.”
Fredrik Johnsson, president and co-founder of Race Of Champions, said: “We are very happy to welcome Hayden Paddon to the first ever Race Of Champions in Australia. It’s long overdue that New Zealand will now finally have a team in the ROC Nations Cup for the first time. Hayden has showed how fast he is just clinching his 2nd European Rally Championship title and we now have to decide who his teammate should be to represent New Zealand at ROC Sydney. New Zealand has so many great racing drivers, so it will not be an easy choice.”
Travis Pastrana, Toby Price, Oliver Solberg and Molly Taylor are among a star-studded entry for the Race Of Champions, which takes place at the Accor Stadium within the Sydney Olympic Park.
The 2025 ERC season begins with the 42nd running of Rally Sierra Morena - Córdoba Patrimonio de la Humanidad in Andalusia, Spain, from 4 - 6 April.
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