In one of the greatest shows of camaraderie the New Zealand Rally Championship has ever seen, Rally Challenge points leader Caleb Macdonald will get a chance to win a title thanks to a rival.
Macdonald and co-driver Larissa Bigger endured a horrific crash at Rally Bay of Plenty earlier this month, in which their Mitsubishi EVO 6 barrel-rolled down the road, destroying the car and throwing their title bid into chaos.
The pair hold a 10-point lead over Josh Keighley in the Rally Challenge class heading to the final round at Whangarei next month.
But without a car to compete, it looked like their campaign would end in tears.
But along came championship rival Ben Huband, who sits third in the race – just 16 points off the lead.
Whangarei-based Huband has made his Subaru H6 available for Macdonald to contest the final round and set up a thrilling showdown that will be determined on the road in a truly gracious act of sportsmanship.
“After the crash at Rally BOP, it became clear that the damage to the EVO was too big to fix and then compete at Whangarei three weeks later,” Macdonald explained.
“Larisa and I had such a good season up to that point, so we were pretty gutted that it looked like we weren’t going to be able to finish the season at the final round.
“Whilst we were a bit downbeat about the crash, we soon started receiving a huge amount of phone calls and messages of support from the rally community – it was really amazing – people were giving us all sorts of encouragement and suggestions to try to get us to the final round.
“One of the people who reached out was Ben Huband.
“Without hesitation, he kindly offered us the use of his Subaru H6, which was already in Whangarei.
He said, ‘We need you to be there to finish the season properly – we can’t have it ending with the crash at BOP’
“So Ben – who is also a competitor in the Cat 5 class and trying to win the championship – has lent us his car – to try beat him in that same championship – it’s unreal support. There are few competitors in any sport that would do that for a fellow racer or competitor. The man’s a legend!”
Huband doesn’t want any publicity for the gesture – he was reluctant to even comment for this story – but he said it was all about the competition and camaraderie.
“I don’t do it for an advantage – I do it for fun and for a beer at the end,” Huband said of his rallying.
“The only reason I am doing the championship is because I wanted to have more fun with my fellow competitors.
“It is the people – giving some friends a challenge and then having fun with them – that makes me want to compete.”
Macdonald will now battle Huband, Keighley and good mate Gavin Feast in a title showdown at Whangarei – if he’s good enough, he will still get the championship, but Huband has certainly played his part too.
“So, a big thanks goes to Ben and his team for making this possible – we are truly grateful that we can come to Whangarei to enjoy the amazing roads,” Macdonald said.
“And a big thanks goes to the rally community for all their support since the crash, too – we have been blown away by it all.”
The International Rally Whangarei begins with a ceremonial opening on Friday, November 7.
Header Image: Geoff Ridder
