Hayden Paddon is in a very good position to become 2025 Australian Rally champion at Rally Tasmania
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
Hayden Paddon’s pursuit of a maiden Australian Rally Championship title will mean a safety-first approach with no room for any ego from the former Production world champion.
The Hyundai New Zealand star, chasing a 10th rally title in 17 seasons, needs to finish this weekend’s Rally Tasmania 12th or higher, having won four from five Australian rounds. Paddon and co-driver John Kennard start the event 85 points clear of their nearest rival, Lewis Bates (Toyota).
Having won the European Rally Championship in 2023 and 2024, Paddon’s focus switched to a new challenge for this season as he crossed the ditch from his native New Zealand to chase Australian glory. Having put so much into his season, the 2016 Rally Argentina winner’s not prepared to take any risks.
A typically forthright Paddon said: “The rally result is irrelevant. We’re not even aiming to win the rally. While on paper, it looks that we just have to finish 12th or better, this being an endurance event, means we must finish both days of the rally. This shifts the focus from performance to reliability and safety.
“To be honest, as a driver, that’s makes it harder. For John and me in the car, it’s about driving fast enough to keep our focus, but also minimising risks, keeping a safety margin in terms of how hard we push.”
Twelfth place this weekend is all Paddon needs to complete his season objective
Rally Tasmania includes 14 stages and 134 competitive miles across Saturday and Sunday – with the season’s longest test (at 27 miles) featuring twice on the final day of the season.
Paddon added: “Too much effort has gone into this season by everyone at Paddon Rally Group, working away from home and literally in various workshops around the country, for us not to achieve our core goal for 2025. It would mean a lot to all of us to finish the job off, so that means putting any egos aside for a weekend and just doing what we have to do.
“We don’t know too much about this rally yet, but it does include the longest stage of the season, so that will be a key stage of the rally in terms of managing tyre wear and strategy.”
Rally Tasmania kicks off with a rally show on Friday night on the Burnie waterfront before two days of rally action through various inland roads.
Words:David Evans
Tags: Australian Rally Championship, Hayden Paddon
Publish Date November 5, 2025 DirtFish
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