Seb Marshall will replace permanently John Kennard as Hayden Paddon’s co-driver. Both sides mutually agreed that is the best decision after Kennard’s hip injury did not heal properly.
The decision for Marshall was announced earlier this year but the move was scheduled for Rally Germany. Kennard planned to conclude his competitive career alongside Paddon at Rally Finland. Unfortunately Kennard’s hip would not recover for the next event, which is in Italy from June 8th to 11th. With just two more rallies – Poland and Finland – before Marshall is in the car full-time with Paddon, Kennard says he feels it is be best for Hayden to continue with Marshall to build the new partnership for the future.
“Unfortunately my hip’s condition still won’t allow me to take on the rough gravel of Sardinia. While I’d dearly love to get back in the car to finish my WRC career with Hayden in Poland and Finland, it really wouldn’t make any sense”, John Kennard explained. “We’ve had a terrible start to the year, so it’s most important to grab some positivity and move forward in the last half of the season. We’ve already seen a spark of that with Hayden and Seb in Portugal, so I’m sure by staying together they can keep it going and they’ll be back on the podium very soon, where I’ll be with them in spirit.”
John Kennard: “While I’d dearly love to get back in the car to finish my WRC career with Hayden in Poland and Finland, it really wouldn’t make any sense”
“It’s not an easy decision”, Paddon added. “But it’s something we all feel is best for the future and something that John is very supportive of and recommends himself. As we’ve said all along, even though he won’t be in the car, John continues to play an important role in our World Rally Championship programme. John will be at all WRC events this year, supporting us on the gravel rallies and helping us as our gravel crew on the tarmac rallies.”
“I’m very pleased that John will co-drive for me when we’re back in New Zealand contesting the Coromandel round of the New Zealand Rally Championship in our Hyundai i20 AP4+ car. We’re also looking forward to a special send-off at Rally Finland, an event that has special relevance and importance to John’s career.”
Seb Marshall already replaced Kennard in Portugal due to his injury. The Anglo-Kiwi crew picked up four stage wins there and were vying for the lead on the rally’s first day before electrics issues hampered their progress. After that were further trouble with their steering rack. Paddon thanked the team for all its hard work.
“It’s been a frustrating one at times but they have never given up”, he continued.
“In fact, they only dig deeper with each rally so we are all aiming to conquer this challenge together. We wanted to use the final stages of the rally to show what we could accomplish, and the fact we could set more stage wins only reinforced what might have been without our troubles.”
“Seb has done an amazing job in his first time in the car. We could’ve been fighting for the win but there are some encouraging signs for the future.”
Happy birthday @sebmarshall !! I think that’s about the best birthday gift I could ever give? Enjoy it, as I have & I know you will? pic.twitter.com/EArh86DBqn
— John Kennard (@JKCoDriver) May 29, 2017
