New Zealand driver Hayden Paddon escaped unharmed after his Hyundai car overturned and burst into flames in a harrowing exit at the Rally of Portugal Friday. Paddon was sitting second in the world championship after winning in Argentina last time out but his race in Portugal ended when his car overturned and the exhaust set nearby trees on fire. The flames spread to the car which was a burned-out shell within five minutes leaving Paddon and co-driver John Kennard only able to salvage their helmets. "I don't know where to begin! That was definitely not part of our plan for this rally and I am very disappointed to have to retire in this way," said the 27-year-old Paddon. "We started the morning quite well despite some small technical niggles. We didn't lose too much time and were definitely keeping in touch. We were hoping to close the gap in the afternoon loop but it wasn't to be. "Unfortunately, we were caught out by a big hole in the road on stage five that sent the car into a roll off the road. The heat from the exhaust then set the surrounding bushes on fire, and totally destroyed the car. "The consequences for a small mistake are very cruel." The same corner on the fifth stage also saw the Fiesta of Estonia's Ott Tanak come to grief but he is expected to rejoin the race Saturday. By the end of the day, Britain's Kris Meeke led the rally in his Citroen ahead of triple world champion Sebastien Ogier in a VW Polo-R. Meeke was 35.2sec ahead of the Frenchman with Dani Sordo, in a Hyundai, in third spot at 39sec off the pace. The dramatic fifth stage was canceled before Meeke had a chance to go through but he was eventually credited with a time by stewards at 5.2-sec faster than his rivals after he had been quickest by 5.6sec on the first run of Ponte de Lima in the morning.
