New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon has confirmed that Britain's Seb Marshall will replace John Kennard as his new co-driver.
Hayden Paddon (R) with his new co-driver Seb Marshall of Great Britain. Photo: WRC.com
A day after the announcement that Kennard would step down after 12 years together, Paddon revealed on social media that 27-year-old Marshall would be his replacement.
Kennard's final rally with the Hyundai Motorsport squad will be Rally Finland at the end of July.
Marshall will take over for the final four rounds of the WRC season, beginning with the German Rally in August.
Marshall partnered Australian champion Molly Taylor for several seasons before joining Kevin Abbring in 2014 in the European Championship.
The pair joined Hyundai Motorsport in 2015 but Marshall stepped down as the Dutchman's co-driver at the start of this season.
He has been working with Paddon during testing and the pair will compete together for the first time at the non-championship Rallye Sanremo at the end of the month in Italy in an i20 R5.
Paddon is using the asphalt event as preparation for the fourth round of the WRC, the Che Guevara Energy Drink Tour de Corse a week later.
"It will be a good opportunity to get some more mileage on Tarmac on very twisty and demanding roads that are similar to Corsica," explained Paddon.
"With Seb sitting in the car with me, it's also a chance for us develop our partnership with an eye on the future."
-WRC
