Hunt clinches 2WD title in Oz

British driver Harry Hunt had double reason to celebrate following his Rally Australia debut last week.

Not only did the 23-year-old claim his first Production Car world championship points in ninth place in class, he also secured the inaugural FIA Production Car Cup for Drivers of 2WD Cars.

“It’s been an incredible week,” said Hunt, whose third category win of the season was enough to seal the title. “To come out to a completely new rally like this and celebrate winning an FIA title is very special. It’s certainly something worth celebrating! There wasn’t so much competition this year, but we have won the championship and that’s the main thing.”

Hunt, along with his co-driver Robbie Durrant, was competing on Rally Australia for the first time last week and admitted he had learned more on that one event than on any other rally in his short career.

But his maiden outing Down Under wasn’t entirely trouble-free, after his i-Cars Motorsport-run Citroen DS3 R3 ingested water in through the air intake on a very wet opening day. Hunt fixed the problem at the side of the road and was able to make it through to the end of the inaugural Coffs Harbour-based event.

“It’s been a fantastic rally in an amazing country,” Hunt continued. “Robbie and I have both learned so much here. We’ve been able to really work on the set-up of the car, changing the settings and seeing the effect on the car. I feel I’ve taken a good step forward with the car here.”

Hunt admitted the heavy rain on the opening day made going tough for the front-wheel drive DS3.

“There wasn’t always a lot of grip around,” he said. “It was pretty incredible how wet and slippery it was at times, but that’s all good experience. The roads on the second day were just incredible, fantastic to drive and so much fun. The only downside from my trip to Australia is that I don’t seem to have seen as much wildlife as everybody else, no snakes or wallabies or anything like that.”

Finn Mikko Pajunen was Hunt’s only other serious rival this season. He took part on his home rally as a wildcard entrant and climbed maximum points after Hunt crashed out.