This summer, Rianna O’Meara-Hunt graduates from kartsport to the New Zealand Toyota 86 championship, joining the Heart of Racing for her maiden campaign.
O’Meara-Hunt has raced in karts for 12 years, collecting national awards along the way. She also represented Aotearoa in the 2019 ROK World Finals in Italy.
Earlier this year, O’Meara-Hunt got her first taste racing the powerful KZ2 karts in the ProKart series.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 then quelled her plans to return to Europe for more karting. Though it also presented an opportunity to make a jump into the 86 series.
“The 86 championship looks to be a super-competitive series this year and it has become a proven pathway for racers to learn great race craft while providing a solid foundation to start any race car journey,” she said.
The 20-year-old has driven an 86 once during a test day at Hampton Downs. She has yet to rack up some more testing mileage, nor has she driven on some of the circuits the series heads to this year.
Despite her lack of experience, O’Meara-Hunt says she is up to the challenge.
“I need to accept that this is just the start of my race car journey. This will be a massive year of learning.
“I would love to be racing at the pointy end of the rookie field as soon as possible. I am really looking forward to working hard behind the scenes with such an amazing group of people and I am proud to race in support of the Starship Foundation.”
O’Meara-Hunt’s debut round is at Hampton Downs on November 12-14.
