Jones And Thomson Closer Than Ever To Victory In Japan
With New Zealand rally legend Hayden Paddon on hand to help and advise over the weekend, Jones and Thomson but 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Golf: Steven Alker leads major championship; Dame Lydia Ko, Ryan Fox climb leaderboards
Steven Alker has made a strong start in his bid for a 10th win on the PGA Tour Champions. The Kiwi sits in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard of the tour's third major championship of the year, the Kaulig Companies Championship, in Ohio. Alker backed
Otago Daily Times
15 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Our Michael wings it in Japan
Michael Collins at last weekend's game between the Wakatipu Premiers — whom he's played for just once, when they lifted the White Horse Cup off Arrowtown in 2019 — and Maniototo. PHOTO: PHILIP CHANDLER What a time to play your first game on the right wing. Usually a centre or fullback, longtime Queenstown rugby pro Michael Collins wore the No14 jersey for the first time this month — for his Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo team in the final of Japan's League One comp in which they beat Kubota Spears 18-13 to claim back-to-back titles. The 32-year-old, who's just finished his second season with the team and has signed on for two more, says he'd only played wing once before, for the same team last year, in his 14-year professional career. He took the spot due to injuries to a couple of good Japanese wingers, and because they had a spare place for a foreign player. As in his first season, Collins played more games off the bench than he started in because teams are restricted to four foreigners. He notes Toshiba's already blessed with three internationals — including former All Black stars Richie Mo'unga and Shannon Frizell — "and then often there's a foreign lock because that's where you get your height from". "You sort of just bide your time, and when you get the chance to play you play." He confirms Mo'unga, man of the match in the final despite a broken right hand, and Frizell "are a big part of why the team's had success". Collins, who's formerly played for Otago, the Blues, the Highlanders and two Welsh clubs, says the standard of the Japanese comp is "really high". "It's impressive how physical Japanese players are." Most teams also field strong overseas talent, he adds — "you get to test yourself against top athletes in the world". Collins says he still enjoys rugby, and Japan, and lives in "sort of central-ish" Tokyo with his partner. He was also thrilled his dad Kelvin and brother Rhys could make the final, which drew 50,000-plus to Tokyo's National Stadium. He says his body's still "there or thereabouts, obviously not what it was when you were 22", and, touch wood, he's been lucky with injuries. "Hopefully we'll try to keep playing as long as we can."
Otago Daily Times
15 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Adventures to unfold on big screen
Some of the best adventure films from across the globe will be shown in Queenstown next week. The annual NZ Mountain Film Festival, now in its 23rd year, this year received a record 294 entries — the final lineup features 64 award-winning and finalist films, including 18 by Kiwi film-makers. Being held at the Queenstown Memorial Centre next Thursday and Friday, the films will also be available to watch online from July 1 to 31. The Thursday session here, from 7pm, starts with a 'social session' before a conversation with Beth Rodden, regarded as one of the greatest rock climbers of all time, who's recently published a memoir, A Light Through the Cracks, from 7.30pm. Four films will then be shown including Trango, directed by Leo Hoorn (US), the grand prize winner this year. The film follows a team of ski mountaineers, including previous NZ Mountain Film Fest guest speaker Christina Lustenberg, of the US, who skied the first descent of the Great Trango Glacier in Pakistan, after a two-year attempt. Navigating risk, grappling with grief and facing physical danger, the team pushes the limits of human experiences, facing the unimaginable together. Other films on Thursday night are Body of a Line (Henna Taylor, US), solo award winner Far Enough (Julien Carot, France), and Alone Across Gola (Jude Kriwald, UK), the best film on adventurous sports and lifestyle. Another seven films will screen during Friday's 'Pure NZ' session, between 3pm and 6pm. They include the community spirit award-winner, Spirit of the West (Pedro Pimentel), which is set against New Zealand's West Coast and captures the spirit of the Old Ghost Ultra, All In or Nothing, directed by Gordon Duff, which won the best documentary award, and follows young athlete Matthew Fairbrother who's up against 120 riders with full support crews as he attempts to win the overall title at the NZ MTB Rally, on his own, and Waiatoto (Josh Morgan and Jasper Gibson), winner of the Hiddleston/MacQueen Award for best NZ-made film. It tells the story of a traverse across the Southern Alps through packraft, skis and tramping. Starting at the Matukituki, Gibson, Nick Pascoe and Charlie Murray travelled via Tititea, the Volta Glacier and the Waiatoto to the Tasman Sea. "We didn't set out to make a film," Pascoe says, "the focus was on a creative adventure through an incredible corner of the country, simply for the sake of it." Rounding out this year's festival is Friday night's 'Snow Show', from 7pm, which includes best snow sports film Painting the Mountains (Pierre Cadot, France), set in El Chalten, a remote Patagonian village beneath Fitz Roy, where three French skiers arrive to pioneer new lines. Tickets to Thursday's session cost $30 ($5 youth discount) and $25 for each of Friday's sessions, with youth discounts. For more info, or to buy tickets, see
