Just five points separated the pair heading into the event and what promised to be a tight battle turned into an epic tug-of-war that lasted until the final stage of the rally.
2008 champion Hynes said a slower-than-normal start was the tonic he needed to eventually beat Box to the 2011 title.
“We started off a little bit slow and that was funny because we didn’t think we were that slow until Nick started off quite a bit quicker than us,” Hynes said.
“But we went out onto stage three and just had to push really hard to just get ourselves on the pace - and that really worked for us because we pulled the time back on the next couple of stages.”
The fight continued through the middle part of the rally until the second last stage where Hynes decided to roll the dice.
“We went absolutely off the planet on that stage, drove absolutely flat out,” he said. “It was quite a tough and technical stage but our pace notes worked really well in there so we could just push really hard.
“Over the rough stuff I just pushed as hard as possible and didn’t slow down for anything and drove on and then over the limit. The car is very worse for wear but at least we got the trophy.”
Hynes paid homage to the competitive nature of the season and congratulated Box on being a great competitor throughout the year.
“He has improved immensely over the course of the year, he is a really good competitor,” he said. “He made us lift our game that is for sure.”
“For it to come down to the last round and then for it to come down to the last stage and having to push so hard was just magic and great for the sport.”
Hynes took the championship on 154 points aided by three victories at Experts Cup, Lewana Stages and Safari; Nicholas Box was runner-up in the standings on 143 points after victory in Heat 1 of the Quit Forrest Rally and at the Trade Hire Donnelly Rally. Former champion Alex Stone finished third this year on 127 points on the back of three third-places at the last three events.
Despite finishing second in the 2WD section, Kiel Douglas held off a fast-finishing Julian Wright to take out the 2WD championship honours. 17-year-old Dylan King held onto third place in the championship despite not being able to complete the rally on Saturday due to mechanical problems.
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