Kiwi rally star Zeal Jones says he took some valuable lessons from his experience in the final shootout for the 2024 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge in Finland.
Jones fought his way through two rounds of grueling testing in Japan to make the final stages of the competition but just fell short of winning one of the top two spots and a place as a Generation 4 driver in the official TOYOTA GAZOO World Rally programme.
“Ultimately, I lacked the consistency of the two drivers that were chosen – Kanta Yanaguida and Rio Ogata,” he said.
“There are so many different areas you’re tested on as a driver, an amount that you can’t prepare for everything. So it’s hard to pinpoint any specific but consistency is a key in this competition.”
Despite the disappointment, Jones was happy with his performance, particularly given his young age and his unfamiliarity with the Japanese conditions.
“I was pleased with my overall performance. In our downtime, I was thinking, what else could I have done with my level of experience on the snow, with the cars, and in that environment?
“I couldn’t have done anything more. So, I was pleased I left it all out on the table to display my skill. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough this time, but still, being one of the youngest in the selection, I know there will be more opportunities to come.
“I said to Both Mikko and Jouni the biggest thing I learned was patience. Coming from a Rally 2 background in 2024, the cars I drove in Finland were slower, so I had to adjust my aggression to more standard cars with the reduced level of grip and power as well as other significant differences.
“So, I think looking back now to my 2024 NZRC campaign, I can see where I went wrong and could make easy time up, so that’s a huge learning from the competition.
“It was a tease in a way to see what else was out there in this world of rallying. It opened a new perspective on how to attack things personally in many different aspects, physically, mentally and more. In the mix, it also shows what great qualities New Zealand has rallying but also what we could work on.”
As for the future, Jones says he is still very much at the planning stage, but for now is looking forward to a well-earned break.
“It’s difficult to say right now. With Plan A out of the mix, Plan B always floated around your mind in case of this scenario. There are a few things on the table that we are evaluating to make the right next step in preparation for some new big goals in the future. So we’ll push hard to make the best outcome, but before that, a small break after these big few weeks.”
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing New Zealand Motorsport Manager Nicolas Caillol says Jones has a bright future ahead, which TGRNZ wants to be part of.
“We are proud of Zeal’s achievement in being able to go up to the final stages of just six drivers from an initial 100. That is extremely impressive regardless of anything else.
“Zeal demonstrated what we have seen in him here in New Zealand and despite not being one of the two drivers selected, he does have a great future and we are working together to see how we could support him in his future endeavours.
“With Finding New Zealand’s Next World Champion programs we have developed here in NZ we see talent and nurture it in the Toyota 86 Trophy, the Bridgestone GR86 Championship, with the GR Supra GT4 EVO/EVO2 programme and of course the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship,
“Despite not being directly involved in Rally in the NZ scene, we are proud to support the next rally talent as well and we believe Zeal is that driver.”
Header Image: Tayler Burke (Supplied)
