Hayden and John finished their first event on snow in February in Sweden with a solid fourth place in the Super 2000 World Rally Championship field.
Two months later they won their first SWRC round in Portugal. It was unexpected after an electrical fault grounded their New Zealand World Rally Team Skoda Fabia on the Friday. Restarting on Saturday, Paddon won every one of that day’s six stages to move into third in class. The final day they moved up into first after their main rival broke down.
In May, Hayden took on a new challenge driving a Ford Escort RS1800 in the classic section of the Otago Rally. He and John won the event outright, becoming the first two-wheel drive to achieve victory in the national championship section since Neil Allport in 1987.
In June, young New Zealand rally driver David Holder was chosen by Hayden as his protégé to be mentored and guided to reach the top level of rallying.
That same month, Hayden won the Brother Rally New Zealand SWRC class in the ASM Motorsport Skoda Fabia. He and John had a massive 33-minute winning margin back to the second placed P-G Andersson.
A decision to change teams mid-season saw Hayden sign with Austrian team Baumschlager Rallye & Racing (BRR). Unfortunately, terminal engine failure ended his debut with BRR at August’s Rally Finland on day two.
The following month, Hayden and John held onto second in the 2012 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship standings despite issues hampering their Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car for the first of three days at Wales Rally GB.
The pair capped off the event by winning four of the final day’s six stages and finishing seventh in the SWRC category.
Stuck in a ditch, Hayden’s hopes of winning the FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship category in Rallye de France disappeared in October. A small driving error where he slid off the road on a slow corner put paid to his goal of cruising through the final day – having held the lead – and also bitterly ended his championship hopes.
The next month, Hayden wrapped up the final event of the 2012 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship season at RACC Rally de Espana by winning 11 of the 13 SWRC stages that he completed. Red Bull pitched in to help finance this event and Hayden’s Skoda ran in the energy drink company’s livery.