Hayden Paddon was the big winner when the curtain came down on a thrilling 2024 FIA European Rally Championship during an action-packed Rally Silesia today (Sunday).
While Andrea Mabellini scored a breakthrough victory alongside co-driver Virginia Lenzi, Paddon made it back-to-back ERC titles in third place with John Kennard co-driving his Hyundai i20 N Rally2.
Paddon’s entrant, BRC Racing Team, clinched the FIA European Rally Championship for Teams with Michelin taking the inaugural FIA European Rally Championship for Tyre Suppliers. All results are subject to final FIA confirmation.
“I wasn’t going to risk the title by being drawn into a fight today, I just wanted to bring the car home,” said the 37-year-old New Zealander. “I knew what I was here to do and the title is hugely important. We’ve worked all year to achieve it. We’ve had our backs up against the wall for the best part of the season with a performance deficit, but the team has been working hard to bring that back and we’ve brought it back during the last couple of rallies.”
Paddon arrived in southern Poland with a commanding points advantage over Mathieu Franceschi, meaning a top eight finish would be enough for championship number two. But the Pirelli-equipped driver’s eventual third place left the outcome of the 2024 ERC title race in no doubt.
A one-time WRC event winner, Paddon joins an exclusive club of drivers to have successfully defended the ERC crown that also includes Bernard Darniche, Luca Rossetti and Polish hero Kajetan Kajetanowicz.
Mabellini, meanwhile, trailed Paddon by 6.8sec at the overnight halt but closed to within 5.3sec of his rival at the completion of Sunday’s opening stage.
Paddon hit back on SS10 to lead by 6.1sec before the decisive SS11, the first run through the rain-hit Silesian Voivodeship Power Stage. In wet conditions, Mabellini went 8.0sec quicker than Paddon to lead an ERC event for the first time by 1.6sec.
Driving a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo for Team MRF Tyres, Mabellini benefited from selecting a cross tyre formation of soft compound dry tyres and wet weather covers to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish despite being close to nudging a barrier nearing the end of the 11.87km run.
“It feels great,” said 25-year-old Mabellini, who claimed victory by 18.3sec to become the eighth different winner of the season. “The last 11 kilometres were the longest kilometres of my life. I want to thank everybody. It was an incredible journey. We started from Rally5, then Rally4, Rally2 last year, we’re really, really happy.
“First of all I would like to thank Virgi, she always listened to me, she always made me feel great in the car so thanks to her. Thanks to all the sponsors, all the team and especially to MRF Tyres who believed in me and Virgi from the very beginning.”
Paddon, who tackled SS11 with a mix of medium-compound and wet weather Pirelli tyres, lost further ground to Mabellini with a half-spin and an overshoot on SS13, which he completed 12.1sec behind Mabellini, albeit with a second consecutive ERC crown in the bag.
“We had an adventure in the stage,” said New Zealander Paddon. “Second corner, went off line in a bank and pretty much got bellied. I was just sitting there on full throttle trying to get out, had to reverse, going again and we dropped out 15 [seconds] there. Then a couple of ks later at a junction I just went straight through the barriers, had to go down the road, loop around, come back. I don’t think I’ve had so many adventures in one stage so we probably dropped a good 20-plus seconds. Tricky conditions, we’re here but at the time I was thinking ‘not now’.”
With two stage wins on Friday and five on Sunday, including the Power Stage, Motorsport Ireland Rally Academy-supported Jon Armstrong claimed his first ERC podium in second after he demoted the ultra-cautious Paddon on SS14 having fought his way through from seventh position starting day two. At the wheel of a Pirelli-shod Ford Fiesta Rally2, Armstrong beat Paddon by 1.5sec with home hero Miko Marcyk 5.8sec further back.
The M-Sport driver could have been even closer to the front had it not been for a time-consuming technical issue on SS2 and a half-spin on SS3.
For Michelin-equipped Marczyk, meanwhile, fourth place was enough to secure third in the final ERC drivers’ standings.
Mathieu Franceschi took the runner-up spot behind Paddon after finishing fifth on Rally Silesia as Yoann Bonato completed his comeback from serious injury in sixth position.
Grzegorz Grzyb finished seventh as Jarosław Szeja landed his first Polish title in eighth. Zbigniew Gabryś and Philip Allen rounded out the top 10.
Simone Tempestini started leg two in third place for Team MRF Tyres but went off the road at high speed 4.6km from the start of the 11.46 Marklowice Górne test this morning.
Category newcomer Mille Johansson took victory in FIA ERC3 driving a Ford Fiesta Rally3 on Hankook tyres. Calle Carlberg scored a maiden FIA ERC4 and FIA Junior ERC win driving a Hankook-equipped Opel Corsa Rally4.
*All results are subject to final FIA confirmation