Hayden Paddon and John Kennard have secured third place at Rally Poland in their new generation Hyundai i20 World Rally Car.
Third place in Poland represents the third podium finish in the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship for the New Zealanders who finished second in Sweden and won outright in Argentina. The result moves Paddon into third place in the WRC drivers' championship and strengthens Hyundai Motorsport's second place in the manufacturers' standings.
"It obviously got pretty close there at the end," Paddon added referring to Hyundai Motorsport team-mate Thierry Neuville finishing a mere 0.8 seconds behind in fourth. "Our objective today was to secure third position rather than push for second, so we wanted to be relaxed. I think we probably eased off too much. Third is a great result, irrespective of how close it was - just 0.8 seconds!"
"We're really happy to come home with a podium," said Paddon who finished just 2.3 seconds behind Ott Tanak.
The seventh WRC round of the year concluded with a wet and slippery morning of action on Sunday, in contrast to the warm, sunny summer conditions of the previous three days.
"They were very, very tricky conditions and it was very hard to judge your speed," Paddon said, having set the fifth quickest time in all four Sunday stages. "The rain made the stages very slippery and overall today was tricky, having to try and control the position, but in the end we got good points and got the result."