31 Oct 2016

Paddon fourth in Wales

7:21 am on 31 October 2016

The New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon has finished fourth in Rally Great Britain in Wales.

New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon competing at Rally Great Britain in Wales.

New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon competing at Rally Great Britain in Wales. Photo: Timo Ani

Frenchman Sebastien Ogier won in a Volkswagen for the fourth time, finishing ahead of Paddon's Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville of Belgium, with Andreas Mikkelsen of Norway in a Volkswagen third.

Ogier's victory gave Volkswagen the manufacturers title, he had clinched the drivers title in the last round in Spain.

Paddon remains fourth in the drivers standings.

He said he and co-driver John Kennard wanted more than 4th place but did the best they could.

"We've had a hard weekend, so to take fourth place isn't too bad," Paddon said.

"We were involved in a tight battle with Thierry for the final podium position, but we weren't able to take the fight any closer to him. All we could do was keep the gap as small as possible to remind him that we were there, but he had it covered.

"It's the second rally in a row where we've just missed out, but there are still plenty of positives to take from this event.

"I've had to work on adapting my driving style this weekend; this experience will be useful for the future."

The final round of the WRC is in Australia next month.

- Reuters, RNZ