August 4, 2025 • 10 mins
Another Kiwi is plying their trade overseas, aiming to make it into top level racing.
Rianna O’Meara-Hunt grew up karting alongside the likes of Liam Lawson and Matt Payne, winning her titles before deciding to focus on endurance racing.
She was the first junior female to become an Australian State Karting Champion, the first female winner of the Rotax Max Challenge Rounds in NZ, and has won the NZ Super Kart Grand Prix multiple times.
After competing for Aston Martin in GT4 and racing in their academy, O’Meara-Hunt has set her sights on the F1 Academy.
She told Mike Hosking she backs her ability to get into the academy, and is really looking forward to being able to prove her adaptability and skill on the track.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
He is quite possibly the next name to watch a
motor racinger. Rihanna or Mira Hunt grew up charting alongside
the lines of Liam Lawson Matt Payne. She's been competing
for Esther Martin and the GT four, getting invited to
their elite Motorsport academy. Amda moved to the UK full time,
where she's now working on getting into the as I
say before the news, the F one Academy. Anyway, Arianna
Amira Hunt is with us from Britain. Very good morning
(00:21):
to you.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Come on, no worries it all. Tell me about Britain
so far, the move, how it came about, and how
you're settling in.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, I mean it's been a big move. I thought
moving to an English speaking country would be a little
bit more similar than it is, but I'm adapting well.
I moved over here because I got selected to be
part of the Aston Martin Driver Academy last year, so
moved over here kind of getting my pathway into the
UK europe scene and racing.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Tell me about Eston Martin, what they did for you
and how successful you were. I know how successful you
were in one race, but just talk us through it.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, So I ended up winning a shootout in a
America with the heart of racing against nine other females.
We got a year of racing in GT four Sro America,
and we had a tough year of racing, but we
ended it really, really strong with a few top three qualifyings,
and we ended up with creating history in Indianapolis, being
(01:18):
the first ever female duo to win the GT four Vantage.
So ending it on a big high, being able to
kiss the bricks. It was an amazing feeling, and we
want to get back there.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I happen when you say vantage, I don't want to
show off or anything. I happen to have advantage. What's
the difference between what's the difference between my vantage that
I'm driving and your GT four Vantage.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, our Duty four Race Vantage will be set up
for race tracks. Yours is more of a road vehicle,
so we've got a good old harnessing and just some
more race dynamics with race brakes and suspension. But GT
four is based on road cars, so they would be
pretty similar apart from their you know, FIA standards typical.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I think of most race drivers, you start in carts,
you move your way on up. Eventually you want to
be in the F one Academy, and that may well
come your way very shortly. We'll talk about that in
a second. What's the gap between jumping out of a
cart and in to say, a Toyota eighty six.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
It was a massive learning curve for me. I did
it quite late, so I did it when I was
about twenty one. Usually you make that jump at about
sixteen seventeen. But I had the help of a lot
of people in New Zealand to get me from driving
a go kart well to driving a car. Well. Tim White,
my engineer, helped me a lot, and I did my
(02:38):
year with the Heart of Racing, but also with my
sponsor's Golden Home, Southern Lakes Edifice Property Group and dall
It and they all kind of supported me, getting me
some driver training to make that switch, and it was
all about adapting to car weights. It's very different to
a gokuts very small, very lights, and the car was
very heavy, so getting used to that was probably the
(03:00):
biggest challenge.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
The I love the way you just rolled off your
sponsors there, because that is one of the quintessential things
about motor racing, isn't it. To be successful, you not
only have to be fast, you've got to have backing one.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It is a massive part, especially for you know, us
Ki's coming over into the UK and Europe. You know,
we get met with some big people with some big
budgets and having the backing, especially from home, is really special.
I want to be able to create history for New
Zealand as well as myself, and I've managed to do
that a couple three times now in casting and then
(03:35):
once in car racing. And you know, I've had Tony
Quinn help me in the UK to race last year.
It was the only way I got on track with
him and Golden Home Southern Lakes. So I mean, I
can't thank them enough, and I hope that I'm doing
them proud and we can kind of carry on that
relationship into Ethorn Academy.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Were you always fast? Were you instantly automatically and truly fast?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
The first day I got into the go kat we
were a bit shocked. I actually had the thought all
stuck on and we couldn't slow the go kart down.
So everyone was like, she's so quick, She's handled this
so well. Little did they know that the thoughtle was
stuck on. But I did have a natural kind of
talent from the start. I did get driver training from
(04:24):
Arie Hutton and Ryan Urban for about probably eight years
between the two, so I did put the time and
effort in to be able to adapt to my skill,
and we spent a lot of those years working closely
with a trainer to be able to kind of be
on that top edge of everybody else.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
All right, listen, let me ask you, Rhianna, the gender question,
because I can't quite work it out whether I mean,
I mean as soons to me in driving a car,
I can't see the difference. I mean maybe endurance racing,
this difference maybe over you know, many many many laps
in ours. Physical difference. It might be a thing, but
the rest is mainly mental and skill, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I think once you put on a helmet, you're all equal,
and that's what I love about racing. And the only
difference I would say with single seaters is an F
two and F three they don't have power steering, so
you do have to be quite a bit stronger than
you would be an F four. That's really mainly the
only difference. I mean, we just have to work a
(05:23):
little bit harder to put on that muscle. But that's
a part of the game, isn't it. You want to
be on that top one percent, whether you're the top
one percent and females or males. So for me, it's
more about maximizing that no matter the.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Gender, the were you have you done your at Silverstone yet?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
No, that's tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
How is that like beyond exciting or not? Really it is.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I honestly, I cannot wait. I've been in the sim
all day today testing and I can't wait. I haven't
been behind the wheel of a car since November last year.
So just being back in a full motion sim again
or a massive smile to my face, and it's kind
of you know, I made it more of a reality now.
It's been a lot of behind the scenes work this
(06:07):
year with networking and now to be back focused on
actually racing as a dream come true.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
That's the thing I think most people don't understand about
motor racing. Motor racing is actually not a lot of
motor racing, isn't It's a lot of other stuff and
just a little bit behind the wheel that must be
at times frustrating.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Exactly. Yeah, for me, I mean as I said, I
haven't been in a car since November and it's been
about networking. It's been about getting my name out in
the UK and Europe. It's social media so important these days,
even in racing. You know, you need to have followers
for brands to want to work with you or companies
to be able to take note. So for me, that's
(06:47):
what this year has been about, and it's been adapting
to that new lifestyle. But I just cannot wait to
get back in the car.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
The full motion sim You mentioned the difference between that
and something some people would have say in their garage.
How different is it?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It's crazy. It's you know, I was in a completely
separate room with glass and people on laptops looking at
my data and my video as I'm doing it live
to a reference lap time, so they can completely see
exactly what I'm doing. There's no line, there's no mistakes.
If you make one, they see it, and you're literally
(07:21):
up in the air kind of the car's going with
you as you're turning. So it just makes it feel
more more realistic and what the actual thing is going
to feel like for me on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So here's the interesting thing. So you go from carts
to eighty six? Is there as a jump? You've never
done single seaters before? What do you reckon? The difference
between saying s and GT four and single seaters is.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Between an ASS and Duty four and single seaters. I
think the difference of stiffness we the F four car
is a lot stiffer than a GT four ASS in
all the weight and a Duty four ASIN is up high.
We're pretty level to the actual in a single seater.
So it's going to be about manipulating the car in
a different way to get the weight to go forward
(08:04):
and back, and that's what I've learned on this motion
sim is kind of manipulating that in a short space
of time. Also, the four is a bit slower than
the GT four, so it's about being able to get
on power as quickly as I can out of the
corner to maximize those long straits, especially around Silverstone GP.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
What do you reckon as you sit here talking to
us this morning, what do you reckon? How far short
are you of getting into the F one Academy in
terms of speed and skill?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I back myself. I think I can be there within
a couple days on track. I am really looking forward
to being able to kind of prove my adaptability. Something
that I've had to do my whole racing career because
I haven't had much budget, is to go to a
track I've never been to before on the race we
can and adapt to it as fast as possible. So
(08:54):
I'm just going to be taking those learnings and doing
the exact same thing with the car. You know, I
love data, I love videos, so that's a big strong
point for me. I can spend hours looking at it,
so that's where I kind of pull that game up.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
With it fantastic. You gotta if you haven't already seen it.
There's a thing with Chris Harrison Max for stap in
a video out at the moment he can go to
a track, He's up to speed race speed within four laps.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's insane, honestly.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Yeah, well listen all the very best of luck. What
have you got planned for the rest of the year
beyond that you're busy?
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, to me, it's just about trying to find some
more buddy to get into the car. So I want
to be testing as much as possible within the next month.
If I do well at this sim test, I get
to be high Tech's last seat at the F one
Rookie Navara Test in September, so hopefully this goes well
(09:47):
and then we get on track as much as we
can before September eighteenth.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Obviously, we wish you all the very best. Lovely to
talk with you and maybe we'll catch up before the
end of the year.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Thank you so much. Mate.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Rihanna o'meira hunt out of Stratford upon Avon this morning,
so there's a name to watch for more from the
Mic Asking Breakfast. Listen live to News Talks at B
from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
He is quite possibly the next name to watch a
motor racinger. Rihanna or Mira Hunt grew up charting alongside
the lines of Liam Lawson Matt Payne. She's been competing
for Esther Martin and the GT four, getting invited to
their elite Motorsport academy. Amda moved to the UK full time,
where she's now working on getting into the as I
say before the news, the F one Academy. Anyway, Arianna
Amira Hunt is with us from Britain. Very good morning
(00:21):
to you.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Come on, no worries it all. Tell me about Britain
so far, the move, how it came about, and how
you're settling in.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Yeah, I mean it's been a big move. I thought
moving to an English speaking country would be a little
bit more similar than it is, but I'm adapting well.
I moved over here because I got selected to be
part of the Aston Martin Driver Academy last year, so
moved over here kind of getting my pathway into the
UK europe scene and racing.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Tell me about Eston Martin, what they did for you
and how successful you were. I know how successful you
were in one race, but just talk us through it.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, So I ended up winning a shootout in a
America with the heart of racing against nine other females.
We got a year of racing in GT four Sro America,
and we had a tough year of racing, but we
ended it really, really strong with a few top three qualifyings,
and we ended up with creating history in Indianapolis, being
(01:18):
the first ever female duo to win the GT four Vantage.
So ending it on a big high, being able to
kiss the bricks. It was an amazing feeling, and we
want to get back there.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
I happen when you say vantage, I don't want to
show off or anything. I happen to have advantage. What's
the difference between what's the difference between my vantage that
I'm driving and your GT four Vantage.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Well, our Duty four Race Vantage will be set up
for race tracks. Yours is more of a road vehicle,
so we've got a good old harnessing and just some
more race dynamics with race brakes and suspension. But GT
four is based on road cars, so they would be
pretty similar apart from their you know, FIA standards typical.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
I think of most race drivers, you start in carts,
you move your way on up. Eventually you want to
be in the F one Academy, and that may well
come your way very shortly. We'll talk about that in
a second. What's the gap between jumping out of a
cart and in to say, a Toyota eighty six.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
It was a massive learning curve for me. I did
it quite late, so I did it when I was
about twenty one. Usually you make that jump at about
sixteen seventeen. But I had the help of a lot
of people in New Zealand to get me from driving
a go kart well to driving a car. Well. Tim White,
my engineer, helped me a lot, and I did my
(02:38):
year with the Heart of Racing, but also with my
sponsor's Golden Home, Southern Lakes Edifice Property Group and dall
It and they all kind of supported me, getting me
some driver training to make that switch, and it was
all about adapting to car weights. It's very different to
a gokuts very small, very lights, and the car was
very heavy, so getting used to that was probably the
(03:00):
biggest challenge.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
The I love the way you just rolled off your
sponsors there, because that is one of the quintessential things
about motor racing, isn't it. To be successful, you not
only have to be fast, you've got to have backing one.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It is a massive part, especially for you know, us
Ki's coming over into the UK and Europe. You know,
we get met with some big people with some big
budgets and having the backing, especially from home, is really special.
I want to be able to create history for New
Zealand as well as myself, and I've managed to do
that a couple three times now in casting and then
(03:35):
once in car racing. And you know, I've had Tony
Quinn help me in the UK to race last year.
It was the only way I got on track with
him and Golden Home Southern Lakes. So I mean, I
can't thank them enough, and I hope that I'm doing
them proud and we can kind of carry on that
relationship into Ethorn Academy.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Were you always fast? Were you instantly automatically and truly fast?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
The first day I got into the go kat we
were a bit shocked. I actually had the thought all
stuck on and we couldn't slow the go kart down.
So everyone was like, she's so quick, She's handled this
so well. Little did they know that the thoughtle was
stuck on. But I did have a natural kind of
talent from the start. I did get driver training from
(04:24):
Arie Hutton and Ryan Urban for about probably eight years
between the two, so I did put the time and
effort in to be able to adapt to my skill,
and we spent a lot of those years working closely
with a trainer to be able to kind of be
on that top edge of everybody else.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
All right, listen, let me ask you, Rhianna, the gender question,
because I can't quite work it out whether I mean,
I mean as soons to me in driving a car,
I can't see the difference. I mean maybe endurance racing,
this difference maybe over you know, many many many laps
in ours. Physical difference. It might be a thing, but
the rest is mainly mental and skill, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
I think once you put on a helmet, you're all equal,
and that's what I love about racing. And the only
difference I would say with single seaters is an F
two and F three they don't have power steering, so
you do have to be quite a bit stronger than
you would be an F four. That's really mainly the
only difference. I mean, we just have to work a
(05:23):
little bit harder to put on that muscle. But that's
a part of the game, isn't it. You want to
be on that top one percent, whether you're the top
one percent and females or males. So for me, it's
more about maximizing that no matter the.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
Gender, the were you have you done your at Silverstone yet?
Speaker 2 (05:40):
No, that's tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
How is that like beyond exciting or not? Really it is.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
I honestly, I cannot wait. I've been in the sim
all day today testing and I can't wait. I haven't
been behind the wheel of a car since November last year.
So just being back in a full motion sim again
or a massive smile to my face, and it's kind
of you know, I made it more of a reality now.
It's been a lot of behind the scenes work this
(06:07):
year with networking and now to be back focused on
actually racing as a dream come true.
Speaker 1 (06:13):
That's the thing I think most people don't understand about
motor racing. Motor racing is actually not a lot of
motor racing, isn't It's a lot of other stuff and
just a little bit behind the wheel that must be
at times frustrating.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
Exactly. Yeah, for me, I mean as I said, I
haven't been in a car since November and it's been
about networking. It's been about getting my name out in
the UK and Europe. It's social media so important these days,
even in racing. You know, you need to have followers
for brands to want to work with you or companies
to be able to take note. So for me, that's
(06:47):
what this year has been about, and it's been adapting
to that new lifestyle. But I just cannot wait to
get back in the car.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
The full motion sim You mentioned the difference between that
and something some people would have say in their garage.
How different is it?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It's crazy. It's you know, I was in a completely
separate room with glass and people on laptops looking at
my data and my video as I'm doing it live
to a reference lap time, so they can completely see
exactly what I'm doing. There's no line, there's no mistakes.
If you make one, they see it, and you're literally
(07:21):
up in the air kind of the car's going with
you as you're turning. So it just makes it feel
more more realistic and what the actual thing is going
to feel like for me on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So here's the interesting thing. So you go from carts
to eighty six? Is there as a jump? You've never
done single seaters before? What do you reckon? The difference
between saying s and GT four and single seaters is.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Between an ASS and Duty four and single seaters. I
think the difference of stiffness we the F four car
is a lot stiffer than a GT four ASS in
all the weight and a Duty four ASIN is up high.
We're pretty level to the actual in a single seater.
So it's going to be about manipulating the car in
a different way to get the weight to go forward
(08:04):
and back, and that's what I've learned on this motion
sim is kind of manipulating that in a short space
of time. Also, the four is a bit slower than
the GT four, so it's about being able to get
on power as quickly as I can out of the
corner to maximize those long straits, especially around Silverstone GP.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
What do you reckon as you sit here talking to
us this morning, what do you reckon? How far short
are you of getting into the F one Academy in
terms of speed and skill?
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I back myself. I think I can be there within
a couple days on track. I am really looking forward
to being able to kind of prove my adaptability. Something
that I've had to do my whole racing career because
I haven't had much budget, is to go to a
track I've never been to before on the race we
can and adapt to it as fast as possible. So
(08:54):
I'm just going to be taking those learnings and doing
the exact same thing with the car. You know, I
love data, I love videos, so that's a big strong
point for me. I can spend hours looking at it,
so that's where I kind of pull that game up.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
With it fantastic. You gotta if you haven't already seen it.
There's a thing with Chris Harrison Max for stap in
a video out at the moment he can go to
a track, He's up to speed race speed within four laps.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
It's insane, honestly.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Yeah, well listen all the very best of luck. What
have you got planned for the rest of the year
beyond that you're busy?
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Yeah, to me, it's just about trying to find some
more buddy to get into the car. So I want
to be testing as much as possible within the next month.
If I do well at this sim test, I get
to be high Tech's last seat at the F one
Rookie Navara Test in September, so hopefully this goes well
(09:47):
and then we get on track as much as we
can before September eighteenth.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Obviously, we wish you all the very best. Lovely to
talk with you and maybe we'll catch up before the
end of the year.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
Thank you so much. Mate.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Rihanna o'meira hunt out of Stratford upon Avon this morning,
so there's a name to watch for more from the
Mic Asking Breakfast. Listen live to News Talks at B
from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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