Haddon Paddon: Wales Rally GB

We have finished Wales Rally GB after a long and challenging event in 13th overall and 2nd in the S2000 class. Today has been more of the same and the small battle that we were having all rally long with class leader Kevin Abbring all but ended on the second stage today when we slid wide into a ditch and stalled the car.

Despite the handling issues this weekend it has been a successful event with our R4 Symtech Racing Subaru not missing a beat mechanically. We have also learnt a lot and I feel with a good testing and development program that the car has a lot of potential.

You can see the following link for todays video blog along with in-car footage:

It has been a hugely successful season and another step forward in our career as we continue to move forward. There is a lot more to come and I am now looking forward to next year and stepping things up another level. A huge thank you for all your support this year, it has been humbling how much New Zealand and our supporters have been behind us.

I will take this chance to thank some of the people that have made this years campaign possible including Symtech Racing. Between Dirk, Wim, Rui, Haggis, Steve, Neil, Jurek, Mike, Pascal, David, Amanda and Sam they have done an incredible job all year, particularly prior to this event building a brand new car in a short space of time. Also a huge thanks to our New Zealand team at home and our management of Dad, Peter A, Peter S and Kevin. Katie has also done an amazing job this year helping to keep you all up to date which has included some long nights. We have a fantastic group of partners making our campaign possible and without the loyal support that we get from our sponsors, this year would not have been possible so thank you. There are too many people to thank, but all your support means and helps a lot!

Now the work continues to work hard for our 2012 plans. Time is not on our side as the first round of the 2012 WRC starts in Monte Carlo from 18 January. Also in the meantime we have our national roadshow in New Zealand starting from 23 November (details to follow), our corporate rally ride weekend (3/4 December) then a trip to India for the official FIA prizegiving where we will get our PWRC championship winning trophy.

Hayden