• Latest
  • Trending

Hunt’s new Skoda rally beast he aims to take to the top

April 2, 2022

Feeney Earns Pole, Wood and Payne Starting in Top 10 at The Bend

September 13, 2025

Wood leads the way in final practice at The Bend

September 13, 2025

Drama at The Bend: Whincup runs into Pye during safety car simulation, Moffatt fastest

September 13, 2025

Triple Eight lead the way, strong kiwi showings in The Bend Practice 3

September 12, 2025
BARCELONA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 22: <> during the Formula 3 drivers portrait session at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 22, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros - Formula 1/Formula Motorsport Limited via Getty Images)

Louis Sharp tipped for Prema Racing switch in 2026

September 12, 2025

Supercars Enduro Cup opens at The Bend with tight practice sessions and Kiwi pace on show

September 12, 2025

Madeline Stewart gains fresh perspective at Porsche Penske Development Workshop

September 12, 2025

OK Cup kicks off 2025 season with thrilling races at Hampton Downs

September 12, 2025

WATCH: Repco’s Bringin’ the Bathurst TVC for 2025 is live!

September 12, 2025

Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend

September 12, 2025

Mega Pro Series: Final Round and Overall 2025 Results

September 11, 2025
Sunday, September 14, 2025
VelocityNews
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time updates on Kiwi drivers, events and much more!
Subscribe to New Alerts
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

Hunt’s new Skoda rally beast he aims to take to the top

by Zane Shackleton
April 2, 2022
in New Zealand, News, Rally
0

Ben Hunt towers over his new rally challenger.

If you didn’t know him, you’d expect him to be something of a basketball athlete. But no, Hunt is one of New Zealand’s top rally talents.

Hunt is a two-time New Zealand Rally champion. And, until a few weeks ago, he was associated with the colours of Subaru.

Now, largely thanks to a fishing trip with his father-in-law, Hunt has swapped blue for green and white, linking ties with Skoda to launch the first Skoda NZ Rally Team.

Hunt is entering this year’s Kiwi rally championship in a Fabia R5 Rally2 car. It’s brand-new, straight from the factory and had its first run on local dirt last weekend.

Image: Ben Hunt Motorsport

It’s a bit of a change from Hunt’s usual Subaru. It’s shorter and more hatchback-y.

But underneath the freshly stickered bodywork is some serious muscle. It uses a 1.6-litre turbo inline-four that pumps out a tick over 210kW of power with 420Nm of torque.

“It’s probably the best car you can be in,” Hunt says.

“Skoda is one of the most winning rally car [manufacturers]. They’ve got a lot of history in motorsport and to buy a car like this, a rally2 car straight out of box from the factory, it’s a dream come true.”

When I had a spare minute to chat to Hunt, he had yet to have driven the car on the beaten track.

The first test was on the following Sunday at Warkworth, where Hunt’s main priority was getting up to speed with an entirely new beast.

“It’s more coming to grips with it, and it’ll be something completely different to what I have driven before.

“It’s about learning a different driving style. The characteristics are a lot different than anything else I’ve driven.

“But as long as a I drive smooth and fast like I try and normally done, then we should be fine.”

I thought it would be a good time to cheekily ask if Hunt reckons if his new car, coupled with his own skill, could challenge another certain Kiwi star.

He just laughed.

So, take it how you will.

One thing Hunt is really excited about is the opportunity to enter the Rally2 division of the WRC Rally New Zealand in September.

The round will come with plenty of TV coverage, and Hunt will also go against some of the world’s best.

All in a brand-new, all-Kiwi rally team.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

error:
No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.