New Zealand driver Hayden Paddon expressed his regret
after he crashed his Hyundai and injured six spectators at the
start of the second day of the Rally of Argentina yesterday.
At the exit of a curve, Paddon lost control after a jump and
the car shot off the road into a tree, according to Cordoba
newspaper La Voz del Interior.
Spectators disobeyed race regulations that did not permit
them to watch the race from the spot where the accident
occurred, the newspaper claimed.
Neither Paddon nor co-driver John Kennard was injured in the
incident, but six spectators received immediate medical
attention at the scene.
The injured people were taken to hospital for further medical
checks and treatment. None was believed to be injured
seriously.
''We got caught on a small kicker jump where the car landed
on its side on two wheels close to the edge of the road,''
Paddon said.
''Unfortunately, there were some spectators close by to the
road that we hit. It wasn't the nicest of incidents.
''Obviously, there's a lot of spectators here at Argentina
and at times they can be quite close to the road. It wasn't a
nice incident ... but our best wishes go out to everyone who
was involved in the incident.
''The accident that caused it wasn't big at all but obviously
the consequences weren't so great.''
The accident ended Paddon's day but it was expected he would
continue to drive in the rally's third day.
Hyundai team principal Michel Nandan said the team's ''first
thoughts go to the spectators who were injured''.
The team was working with the FIA and rally organisers to
determine exactly what happened.