Kiwi driver Hayden Paddon will extend his WRC career with Hyundai Motorsport in 2015 driving a minimum of nine rallies. In 2014 the 27-year-old and co-driver John Kennard competed in six WRC events, with a best result of P6 in Rally Australia.
“I am very excited to continue working with Hyundai Motorsport with an expanded programme, starting with round 2 in Sweden,” Paddon said. “I learnt a lot and built some really good partnerships within the team this year and it was an obvious choice for us to develop more and chase better results in 2015.”
Paddon clearly impressed team boss Michel Nandan during his limited running this season, explaining his feedback to engineers has been very helpful.
“He had a great first WRC season with us, putting in some eye-catching performances and helping us a lot in the development of our team and car,” Nandan said of Paddon. “He gives excellent technical feedback and works very well as part of a close-knit team with the engineers and mechanics.
“He has already proven himself more than capable of rallying with the best drivers in the world and his personal development was evident as he reduced the gap to his more experienced colleagues.”
Australian driver Chris Atkinson drove for Hyundai at Rally Mexico and Rally Australia in 2014 and it’s unclear what role he will play with the team next year.
Spanish ace Dani Sordo is confirmed for at least 10 of the 13 rounds in 2015, so opportunities for Atkinson may be thin on the ground.