Motorsport: Hunt takes win at Waitomo

Ben Hunt on his way to winning Rally Waitomo. Photo / Geoff Ridder

Subaru driver Ben Hunt has claimed a superb win at Rally Waitomo on Saturday to move himself right into title contention in the New Zealand Rally Championship.

The 2015 champion showcased his class in a masterful performance on the long and challenging one-day event based around the southern Waikato and King Country - leading from the second stage.

He moved to within 10 points of championship leader Andrew Hawkeswood, whose Mazda 2 AP4 car struggled with over-heating throughout the day. The veteran Aucklander managed to nurse his car home to bank a solid haul of points and keep his hopes of a maiden championship alive heading to the season finale at Rally New Zealand in Tauranga next month.

Hunt took a lead of 45 seconds into the 43km final test and lifted off just a touch to protect his lead.

"The last stage, we knew we had a bit of a buffer so we backed off a little bit," Hunt told The Herald. "I was probably a bit nervous because we haven't won an NZRC round since 2015.

"We just did what we had to do in there and got to the end."

It ends a frustrating run for Hunt, who switched to a newer model Subaru after winning the 2015 title in an older model car. But the new car has taken time to iron out issues and improve.

"We have known we can be at the pointy end and that we need to be there," Hunt said. "It takes a lot of time to get a car to where you want it.

"It is not perfect at the moment but it is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was last year and even the start of this year.

"It is close to if not as good as the old car. I think we can make it better than the old car because it has better suspension so we will keep working on in and improving things."

The two-day Rally New Zealand in late November will decide the championship with just 11 points separating Hawkeswood, Hunt and third-placed Matt Summerfield.

"We haven't really thought about the championship the whole year because we have been working hard on improving the car," Hunt added.

"Whatever happens down there happens - it would be great to win another one so we will see."

Rotorua's Sloan Cox took an impressive second in his Mitsubishi while Max Bayley recorded an impressive third on his Ford Fiesta R5's New Zealand debut. It was also Bayley's first rally in 18 months and first in a four wheel drive car.