Team Green was first established as a team to run Hayden Paddon in the New Zealand Rally Championship in 2006. But the history of the team and the people involved stems back decades to when Chris started rallying in the mid 80’s. Chris and his mate Robin Matherson kicked around at school together, and their interest and passion for rallying grew together. They took turns at driving and navigating while Chris sometimes had a tendency to break the cars, Robin (aka Math) was renown in South Canterbury for fixing them. Their relationship continued into when Hayden began driving cars in 2000. When they started getting serious in rallying with 4WD in 2005 the team as we know it today started to take shape, and little did they know it at the time but a championship winning team.
About the Team
Like any sports in the world, rallying is a massive team sport. Not always seen in the media or limelight, our mechanics are the guys that pour in hundreds of hours of work to prepare and maintain a car that is fast and reliable. After each event the Team Green car is stripped down in their South Canterbury workshop and anywhere between 100-150 hours is spent preparing the car for each event. This includes Robin, the owner of In-Tune Automotive extensively pulling down all mechanicals, Hayden, Neil, Chris and Allan spending many of their own hours checking every single nut, bolt and component. Over Team Green’s 4 year presence in the New Zealand Rally Championship, including 29 legs, the team have only not finished 2 of those legs.
Chris has been involved in rallying since the mid 80’s. As a major part of Hayden’s career and helping him get to where he is today, Chris has assisted Hayden in many ways over his career, even giving up the drive of his own car to give his then 15 year-old son a opportunity to start his career. Today Chris is responsible for running the logistics of the team and making each and every event smooth sailing so that everyone can focus on the job at hand.
John Kennard
Co-driver
John has been with the team since the start of 2006 and brings with him a wealth of experience and knowledge. John began his involvement in rallying in the 80’s while both driving and co-driving. He then went on to be the Team Cordinator for the Subaru World Rally team in the mid 90’s before then working with various customer teams and Ralliart USA right up until the early 2000’s. John and his wife Satu then returned to New Zealand to set-up business in the winery business and now owns and operates Vicarage Lane Wines. Johns experience has helped Hayden immensely to help speed up the learning experience and enjoys the sport and being involved in Team Green as much as everyone else
Robin Matherson
Chief Engineer
Robin has been involved in both Chris’s and Hayden’s motorsport career since day dot as a pivotal part in the team and the reliability of the teams cars. Robin too was an accomplished driver in the late 80’s early 90’s and has worked with some of the best in the industry. Today Robin spends hundreds of hours rebuilding and maintaining the mechanicals of the Team Green car, making sure that no stone is unturned to ensure a fast, reliable package. Robin also owns and operates In-Tune Automotive.
Neil Hetherington
Engineer
Neil who went through school with Hayden become part of Team Green in 2006 and has since made a real impression on the maintenance and work of the Team Green car. He is very passionate about the sport and the success of Team Green of which he ensures that no stone is left unturned. As a qualified Fitter/Tuner Neil and his family have had a long association with motorsport which extends to his hobby of building club cars.
HARD
Allan Dunn
Engineer
Allan (aka AD) has been involved in motorsport well before Hayden was even born and has been involved in the some of the top motorsport teams around the world. This also includes the Paul Morris team in the Australian V8 supercars and he is also a regular on the summer series circuit amongst the V8’s and circuit cars. AD, owner of Total Automotive has been involved with Team Green for the past 2 seasons.
Katie Lane
Team Personel
Katie has been part of Team Green and Hayden’s partner since the beginning of 2008. Katie’s role in the team is helping to ensure that everyone is competing and working at the peak of their abilities by monitoring food and fluid intake. With her degree in Nutrition she helps ensure that Hayden and John are competing at their peak performance while also providing support to Hayden as he chases his dream on and off the rally circuit.
