Hayden Paddon rolled out of contention and into retirement on the second day of the Donegal International Rally. The Kiwi was caught out under braking and ran off the road into a soft roll on SS11 – giving up third place in the process.
“Today didn’t go quite to plan,” commented Paddon. “Unfortunately, a very light roll over on today’s penultimate stage put an end to our rally while fighting for a podium.
“Right from the outset we were struggling to have confidence this morning as the bumpy roads were making the car very unpredictable. A stage win on the repeat loop showed some progress and was looking to continue that this afternoon.
“A huge thank you to C&M Motorsport team for the opportunity to come and experience this incredible event! A big thank you to Dave in the co-drivers seat, a massive challenge for him to pick up my pace note system and understand my Kiwi lingo.
“And a huge thanks to the Irish rally community for making us feel so welcome. This rally is certainly one of the most challenging I have done, but have been bitten by the bug which we have some unfinished business of now!”
Irish regular Callum Devine withstood the pressure from his rivals to record a third successive Donegal International Rally win.
The Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 driver along with co-driver Noel O’Sullivan, took victory by 20.5 seconds over the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 of Meirion Evans / Ger Conway.
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