Hayden Paddon credits rural Canterbury upbringing for motorsport success

Proud Cantabrian Hayden Paddon says he would never have achieved motorsport stardom had it not been for his upbringing in a country town.

The 36-year-old rally car driver is the latest guest on Stuff’s Generally Famous podcast, telling host Simon Bridges he was born on a Geraldine farm to a rally driving father, so the sport was always in his blood.

He credits his path to the World Rally Championships (WRC) in part to the good fortune of growing up in the country.

“We would never have achieved what we did and got to where we got to, without coming from a small community.”

“Because coming from Geraldine and then Timaru thereafter, the local newspaper and everything got behind you and everyone knew what you were doing and the whole community got behind you.”

Paddon shared a fond memory of doing an interview with a UK radio station as a 13-year-old after the Timaru Herald ran a story on his rallying exploits in a Mini.

“If I was trying to do that out of Auckland we wouldn’t even get a piece in the paper… no one would know who you are.”

The publicity – and the financial support that often results from it – remains key to Paddon as he chases his rallying dreams with his small New Zealand team.

He described the team as effectively a marketing company rather than a sporting club.

“That’s my biggest job – working with (sponsorship) partners.”

After losing his WRC drive in 2018 to what he describes as “dirty politics”, Paddon aspires for his team to become the Team New Zealand of rallying.

“I want to do this our own way, do it the Kiwi way.”

“There was about a 10-year plan…trying to win a world championship with our own New Zealand team. A bit like Team New Zealand and yachting, we want to do the same in motorsport.”

To listen to the full interview, in which Paddon discusses the environmental considerations of rallying, the politics of getting a WRC drive and how two fans reacted to being struck by him during a rally, use the audio player above or click here.

There’s a new episode of Generally Famous every Wednesday. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify – or wherever else you get your podcasts – to get instant, automatic access.