Zeal Jones and Bayden Thomson put in another strong weekend at the fourth round of the all-Japan Morizo Challenge Cup – the Montre Rally – finishing third overall and closer than ever to that first-round win.
With New Zealand rally legend Hayden Paddon on hand to help and advise over the weekend, Jones and Thomson had a relatively slow start on stage one behind them to be one of the pace setters on the afternoon of the first day and throughout the second day of the eight-stage rally.
The strong result moves them to second in the championship standings at the halfway point of the season.
“We were third overall and had a great final day with two stage wins and a second place,” commented Jones.
“We just missed out on second overall by 1.8 seconds, which is a little frustrating, but again, it was really close overall, and we were only 14 seconds off winning.
“The championship is that tight that it is the tiny details and tiny issues making all the difference. We lost a chunk of time on stage one when I wasn’t really on the pace, and it would have been very different without that but overall, three stage wins across the weekend out of eight is positive.
“We had a good feeling with the car, and we will move to the next round with confidence that we can make that next step up I think.”
Paddon was impressed with what he saw, adding: “I’ve enjoyed helping Zeal and Bayden over the weekend and seeing the progress they are making in and out of the car. Seeing them standing on the podium after closing the gap to the leaders was the icing on the cake.”
The Morizo Challenge Cup is a new category run as a class within the All Japan Rally Championship. All crews compete in Toyota’s GR Yaris, where tight rules and limited modifications put the focus on driver skill and teamwork.
All drivers must be under 25 years old, and the objective of the championship is to provide a stepping stone to higher rallying categories for Japan’s rising rally stars. With a Japanese mother, Jones’ entry into the championship was welcomed.
The Kiwi duo go again at the next round at Hokkaido over the weekend of July 4-6.
Header Image: Supplied
