John Kennard recently put an end to his career as Hayden Paddon’s co-driver in the World Rally Championship. The New Zealander is still in the Hyundai team but still has no idea what the future holds for him.
Looking back, what was the best moment of your career?
“Winning Rally Argentina in 2016 with Hayden. After moving to the management side of the sport, when I came back to co-driving with him I never imagined it would go on for so long, so to get as far as winning a WRC event with him was incredible.”
Did you ever think winning could be possible?
“It’s always been my expectation that Hayden could win WRC rallies and I still believe he can win the championship. Some things that are beyond your control have to fall into place to make it happen. But I’ve always believed that was the case and whether I was there or not was the only question.”
What will you miss?
“Definitely there’s a level of exhilaration involved, the sheer thrill of winning a stage, winning a rally. It would have been the ultimate result to have retired in Finland having won the rally. But life very rarely goes along the lines you want it to.”
What does the future hold for you?
“On the two events after Finland – Germany and Spain – I’ll do gravel notes with Brendan Reeves for Hayden. Then Rally Australia being the last event and so close to New Zealand I’ll be there. Onwards from that, it would be nice to stay involved in the rallying community.”
Would you ever rule out a co-driving return?
“My business partner in New Zealand has a BDA Escort and he’s always doing things like bringing former world champions over to do Rally Otago. Several people have said would you pick up another project like Hayden. With Hayden, it’s been 12 years, so I wouldn’t go through another process like that. But if somebody wants me in a car and the person has some ability or needs calming down a bit or help with pacenotes then I’m happy to do that.”
What do you think you’ve brought to the job as a professional co-driver?
“I’m a calm and quiet character who is quite pedantic. I have studied architecture and you have quite a logical mind from that, so that helps. It’s all of those qualities and the ability to accept you’re in the background. As you work your way up the driver gets a load of plaudits and the co-driver stays in the background, but that’s never bothered me. I don’t have to be jumping up and down in the limelight to get my kicks. It’s what you do in the car that matters.”
Awesome being back @HMSGOfficial helping @HaydenPaddon prepare for @RallyFinland. Always exhilarating in one of these cars! https://t.co/btkbgymvS2
— John Kennard (@JKCoDriver) July 17, 2017
