Hayden Paddon continues to challenge himself, tackling tough rallies in Ireland, Europe and Australia.
Over a period of just 16 days, he contested two tarmac rallies and a gravel rally – in Ireland, Europe and Australia. 
First up, he was in contention for a podium or win on the fast, bumpy tarmac of Ireland’s Donegal International Rally until a slow, gentle roll took him out of contention.
Then it was off into Europe for Rally Ypres, another tarmac rally. Up against an 87-strong entry that included Freddy Loix, Jos Verstappen and Stephane Lefebvre Paddon fought rally-long and scored a podium finish – keeping Verstappen down in third as Lefebvre took the win. 
“It’s P2 in Ypres – very happy with the weekend and while it’s not the win, it was an enjoyable and close-fought battle with Stephane and the locals. Loved the rally and the roads!”
A week later there was more success for Paddon when he rejoined long-time navigator John Kennard in Australia for Rally Queensland.
The third round of the 2025 Australian Rally Championship featured 193 competitive kilometres spread across 14 stages.
Championship points were on offer each day of the two-day rally.
Defending ARC champion Harry Bates and Coral Taylor were locked in a tight, day-long battle with Paddon and Kennard, each pair winning four of the day’s eight stages. Eventually, by day’s end, Bates edged out a 3.7 second lead over Paddon.
“Unfortunately, a couple of small issues in the morning loop cost us a little time, and despite three stage wins this afternoon, just fell short. Still strong points for the championship when some fellow rivals had a tough day,” said Paddon.
Paddon says Sunday’s first stage – which he won by 1.8 seconds over Bates – was a surprise. 
“We were expecting wet conditions, and it wasn’t, so we were struggling. The conditions made it difficult to manage tyres and keep a good speed but happy for the whole team that we could get it home and bank maximum points today and take the rally win.”
Paddon and Kennard won five of the day’s six stages, to end the day 42.5 seconds ahead of Lewis Bates and Anthony Mcloughlin in second place. The Kiwis have added 90 points to extend their lead on the championship points table.
“We didn’t expect to win this weekend but, once again, the PRG team did an incredible job. It’s nice to build a bit of a lead in the championship but we’re only halfway through and lots of things can happen on each event; it’s pretty unpredictable.”