He and long-term co-driver John Kennard have entered the World Rally Championship 2 (WRC2) - formerly known as Super 2000 - and will be driving the same Skoda S2000 run by the Austrian Baumschlager Rallye & Racing (BRR) team that they ran with in the second part of last year.
At this stage, they have confirmed the first two rounds - Finland in August and the tarmac Rally of Germany three weeks later - of what Geraldine-based Paddon (26) hopes will be the full six rounds needed to complete a WRC2 championship.
Trying to raise the $NZ1 million needed for his international campaign for the third year running has been ''definitely the biggest battle'' this time around. Along with the company directors at Hayden Paddon Rallysport Global Ltd, he has spent the past year struggling to put the money together for what may be his last chance at securing a paid WRC drive with a team.
''The next 18 months, it's make it or break it for us,'' Paddon said.
He needs about another $500,000 to contest the four rounds remaining in the WRC2 championship and believes that ''a lot of it could be result-driven''.
''The main target of the campaign is to put our name back out there and to get two good results - which has to be to win.''
Paddon will spend July in Europe, meeting those with the power to make his career viable, before he gets back in the car for what he described as a ''good starting point''.
One promising prospect is Hyundai, which is preparing for a return to the WRC next year. Paddon said one of the marque's ''key'' car markets was the Asia Pacific region, so ''for once, we are the right nationality''.
''In order to get the attention of the teams and particularly the new teams coming back to the sport, we need to set fast stage times and put ourselves head to head with the best of young drivers from all over the world.
''I know we can deliver, so I can't wait.''
After a dominant win at Rally Otago last month, Paddon will continue his New Zealand Rally Championship campaign in his Stadium Cars Mitsubishi Evo 9 at the International Rally of Whangarei on May 17-19, and then contest the June 29 Daybreaker Rally in Manawatu.
