Where does Ben Hunt sit in list of our greatest ever drivers?
Ben Hunt has the chance to etch his name alongside some of the all-time greats this year if he can win a fourth national championship, but the reality is Hunt should already be considered one of the very best the country has produced.
The Nelson product has been a leading contender in the championship for well over a decade, but his career has run simultaneously to arguably the two most successful drivers in New Zealand rallying history in Richard Mason and Hayden Paddon.
Hunt has finished runner-up in the championship (all to Paddon) on four occasions. If Paddon, the only driver from the Southern Hemisphere to win a WRC rally, hadn’t been competing in New Zealand, Hunt might well be chasing a record eighth crown this year.
Long-time rallying commentator and historian Chris Grant believes Hunt deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as our best ever.
“Really its Hayden Paddon, Possum Bourne, you have got to look at Richard Mason next with his consistency,” Grant said on BB and Budgie’s Thursday Night Recce.
“I think now, Ben has to be regarded behind or even with Richard Mason now. He has to be up there in that top three simply due to his longevity, consistency, his finishing rate is right there.
“He is in his 16th consecutive season and done 65 rallies straight without missing one. The guy’s consistency, he has just kept on going with the highest possible machinery we can run.”
Hunt leads the 2025 championship at the midway point.
Catch the full interview with Chris Grant from 8pm tonight on the NZRC Facebook page.
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