Briton Harry Hunt has won the FIA Production Car Cup for Drivers of 2WD Cars following his run to 20th overall on Rally Australia.
London-based Harry, who won three international rally titles in 2010, captured the 2WD award on the back of victories in Portugal, Argentina and now Australia.
“It’s been a fantastic event and to win another FIA title at the end of it really is the icing on the cake,” said Harry. “Okay, the competition might not have been so fierce throughout the season, but it’s another championship for me and for the team. We’ll celebrate tonight and look to carry this momentum when we contest Rallye Sanremo later this month.”
Harry, 23, put in a stellar effort behind the wheel of his Citroen DS3 R3 to finish ninth overall in the Production Car World Rally Championship section of the New South Wales event, which handed him his first points in the main PWRC division. It represented a gritty comeback after he lost 12 minutes when his car’s engine ingested too much water on a crossing and faltered on Friday’s opening leg.
“I turned over the ignition about 30 times until it started but the engine was pretty rough until we were able to fix it at service,” said Harry, who spent the rest of the event focusing on his fight back up the leaderboard alongside co-driver Robbie Durant.
“Saturday was a good, trouble-free day but most importantly I learned more on this rally than ever before which makes the trip extremely worthwhile,” he said.
A puncture and a dislodged turbo pipe hampered his pace on Sunday but he was able to hit back to achieve his aim of finishing his second rally in the Southern Hemisphere this year, despite a moment on the event-closing Power Stage.
“I had one big, big moment on the Power Stage,” said Harry, who covered almost 230 competitive miles during the course of the rally. “I was flying on a straight into a second-gear right corner and there was a tree stump on the inside of the corner, which I took in fourth gear by mistake. I was so close to destroying my rally three corners from the end but we got through and completed every kilometre of the rally. Finishing in the top 10 in the PWRC is a pretty nice bonus too.”
Harry will be back in action on Rallye Sanremo, in Italy, from September 22-24, round nine of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, which he ranks as one of this favourite rallies.