Paddon refuses to talk specifics over the tragedy but has retained his professionalism and is set to start the second event of the season at the Rally of Sweden this week.
“We’re looking forward to getting back in the car and trying to ge a bit of normality back in place,” Paddon said.
Paddon and his Kiwi co-driver John Kennard finished second to world champion Sebastien Ogier in Sweden last year and are welcoming the familiarity of the rally as they look to mount their 2017 campaign on the back of the unexpected false start in Monaco.
“We’re really looking forward to going back to Sweden. It’s a rally we enjoy and obviously coming off a good result there last year, we can go with a lot of confidence,” Paddon said.
“It would be nice to try and repeat that but we are under no illusions on how difficult that will be.
“I think it’s important at this stage that we get back in the car and we get a bit of momentum going again and it’s easier to do that when you go into a rally that you enjoy.”
Paddon said that after further testing in his new Hyundai last week, he was feeling comfortable in the new, more powerful car.
“I must admit the car is a big step over what we had on the same test road 12 months ago. It gives us good confidence and we just need to carry that momentum into the rally,” Paddon said.
“We have to forget about the result as such and focus more on just enjoying the driving and have a nice clean rally.
“We know we go into the event with a good car set up and some good pace notes from the stages that are re-used, so we have to use that to our advantage and go out there and do the best job we can.”
Paddon said they intend to pay tribute to the dead rally supporter at the Swedish event.
Photo: Motorsport.com