Fiery exit for Paddon in Portugal
Hayden Paddon has retired from Rally de Portugal after he rolled his Hyundai i20 WRC in SS5 and it caught fire.
Paddon and co-driver John Kennard, who took their maiden win in Argentina last time out, both escaped unhurt, but the car was completely burnt out after the bushes around it caught fire. The incident happened 11.90km into the 27.44km Ponte De Lima 2 test. Paddon had been sixth overall.
Meanwhile, Ott Tanak also crashed out a few minutes later at the same point in his DMACK WRT Fiesta RS WRC and the stage was stopped as a result. His car also caught fire, but the Estonian was able to extinguish it with a hose. He had been joint fourth.
#Paddon update: after the roll the bushes around caught fire and the car burned down. #WRC #HyundaiWRC-- Hyundai Motorsport (@HMSGOfficial) 20 May 2016
Brand auto Hayden Paddon. Crew oke #rtlgp #rtl7 #wrc #portugal #rtlrally #haydenpaddon #hyundai #wrcportugal #fire pic.twitter.com/G2Zq5slmBB-- RTL GP Rally Special (@RTLRally) 20 May 2016
SS5 UPDATE: Both @OttTanak and Raigo are okay. They went off the road in the same place as Paddon #WRC #RallyPortugal-- M-Sport (@MSportLtd) May 20, 2016
RALLY DE PORTUGAL: Proximity of @HaydenPaddon's i20 and @OttTanak's Fiesta on an extraordinary SS5. @RallyeSport pic.twitter.com/PlOSHyrmYE-- RallyingUK (@RallyingUK) May 20, 2016
#WRC @RallydePortugal Ott Tanak is out on SS5! Crew OK! [PHOTOS: @fernandoalbes] #RallyPortugal pic.twitter.com/ymsBZ2Lab4-- SVrally (@SVrally) May 20, 2016
