Motorsport: Paddon gets encouraging second in Poland

Hayden Paddon during Day Two of the WRC Poland. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi rally driver Hayden Paddon has finished second at Rally Poland after surviving the short final day in tricky conditions and helped get his 2017 season back on track.

The Hyundai driver recorded his first podium of the season and even moved up a spot from third overnight after M-Sport Ford driver Ott Tanak crashed early on the final morning.

Paddon's Hyundai teammate Thierry Neuville picked up his third win of the season and closed the gap to world championship leader Sebastien Ogier to 11 points.

The Belgian cruised to victory after Tanak's crash while Paddon took no risks and eased his way through the final four stages to finish 1:23.9s behind Neuville.

It was the first career podium for his British co-driver Seb Marshall on their third outing together.

"It is a big relief - today has been pretty difficult trying to drive so slowly," Paddon said.

"This feels like a win - you have no idea how hard this year has been for me and this really relieves the pressure.

"A huge thanks to the team - they have been really patient - and hopefully this helps us move forward now for the future."

Ogier had an excursion off the road and into a paddock on the final day but did enough to finish third.

Toyota's Jari-Matti Latvala, who was in the fight for the lead earlier in the event, won the power stage while Ogier minimized the damage by collecting four bonus points to Neuville's one.

Paddon is up to seventh in the championship standings while his Hyundai team has reduced the M-Sport Ford lead in the manufacturer's championship to 22.

The next event is Rally Finland at the end of the month.

Final Standings
Thierry Neuville (Hyundai)
Hayden Paddon (Hyundai) +1:23.9s
Sebastien Ogier (Ford) +2:20.8s
Dani Sordo (Hyundai) +2:47.4s
Stephane Lefebvre (Citroen) +3:11.8s
Teemu Suninen (Ford) +3:16.8s