Hayden Paddon and his co-driver John Kennard have walked away from a fiery crash during the Rally of Portugal.
Paddon's Hyundai skidded off during a speed test on the gravel road and burst into flames after rolling down a bank.
"Obviously [it's] not the rally we wanted. This afternoon on the first stage after service we got caught out on a hole on the inside of a corner which kicked the car down a bank," he explained.
"The accident itself wasn't so big, but unfortunately the exhaust caught fire with the bushes -- and the rest is history."
He and co-driver John Kennard only managed to grab the helmets from their car, which was completely burnt out and also set fire to the nearby bush.
A press release from the WRC says "fierce flames" were responsible for "reducing Paddon's car to a shell in minutes".
"Unfortunately the car's burnt to the ground and there's not much left salvageable so it's pretty cruel, a pretty hard pill to swallow and a lot more than the accident actually granted," Paddon said.
Co-driver John Kennard stands next to the burnt car (Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool)
"Nevertheless it's just a big sorry for the team -- they've got a big task ahead to get ready for Sardegna and of course they'll come back stronger and we'll focus on that now and put this one behind us."
Paddon's rival Ott Tänak also rolled his car at the same point on the track, his car also bursting into flame.
However locals rushed to help him, and they were able to salvage his vehicle after putting the blaze out using a hose pipe.
Hayden Paddon stands next to the shell of his car (Jaanus Ree / Red Bull Content Pool)
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