Hunt holds his nerve for third NZRC title

Ben Hunt claimed a third Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship crown after finishing second at the International Rally of Whangarei on Sunday.

Hunt, in his Skoda New Zealand Fabia Rally 2, took a comfortable second place to secure his third career title and first since 2019.

WRC rally winner Hayden Paddon, in the Hyundai New Zealand i20 Rally 2, was the class of the field once again, powering to a dominant rally win but just missed out to Hunt in the season’s standings having missed the opening round at Otago due to a clash with his European Rally Championship.

Paddon led home Hunt by four minutes and 42 seconds.

Dylan Thomson claimed third place in the Kiwi Carpet Cleaners Subaru Impreza in a stunning drive – his best ever overall finish.

He edged Emma Gilmour (Vantage New Zealand Citroen C3) by just 12.2 seconds with Stewart Reid fifth in the SR Automotive Mitsubishi Mirage AP4.

Bryn Jones took an impressive win in the NZRC 2WD class – beating Jack Stokes by two minutes and 42 seconds. Thomson had already wrapped up the championship at the previous round before swapping classes for Whangarei.

Willy Hawes finished second in class in his Toyota 86 to take out the Open 2WD championship despite title rival Dave Strong’s (Honda Jazz) win at Whangarei.

Paul Fraser (Ford Escort) won the Historic 2WD title after finishing runner-up to Anthony Jones (Ford Escort) over the weekend. Mike Cameron was third in the Mitsubishi Lancer.