New Zealanders Paddon and co-driver John Kennard headed into the asphalt rally equipped with a 55-point lead over nearest rival Martins Sesks after scoring a win in the season opener in Portugal followed by four second place finishes and a third.
A top five finish at the Barum Czech Rally Zlín would have been enough secure the title.
The former factory Hyundai World Rally Championship pairing were sitting fourth before collecting a tree on stage nine, causing terminal damage to their BRC Racing i20 N Rally2 machine.
However, ERC regulations state that competitors must drop their worst result for the final calculation of championship points.
Paddon’s retirement from this rally made it the result to drop and put the onus on Sesks to earn at least 20 points to take the title fight to October’s finale in Hungary.
In the end, Sesks could only finish 12th, which was enough to hand Paddon and Kennard the championship.
Source: Autosport