Lachlan Thomson (left), Jared Parker, Kyle Shears, Blake Hamilton with their Toyota Corolla FXGT.
Lachlan Thomson (left), Jared Parker, Kyle Shears, Blake Hamilton with their Toyota Corolla FXGT.
Jared Parker’s involvement in the much-anticipated Daybreaker Rally Manawatū is a bit of a homecoming.
Parker, 24, grew up in Paraparaumu Beach and was immersed in motorsport, especially as his father Shane Parker was one of the top two-wheel rally drivers in the country in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
By the age of 17 Parker moved to Christchurch to attend university, but continued his interest in motorsport and started his own team, called Jigz Motorsport, with some friends, and they built a Toyota Corolla FXGT in the garage.
“We started with a bare shell in January and were racing in Otago by March. It was pretty mega.”
Last year the team was third overall in a regional mainland series in the South Island.
The intention was to take part in the New Zealand Rally Championship next year, but they decided to have a go at a stage event this year, which put them second overall in the championship, in their class, which was category 5B, with two rounds remaining.
They’re now taking part in the Daybreaker which is extra special for Parker.
“Doing the Daybreaker, and having it near home, was the selling point for me to do the rest of the national championship.”
It’s one of the first rallies he went to as a child, he’ll be performing in front of family and friends, and is on roads where his father proved himself as a top driver in his field.
Moreover, there’s a lot of hype around the rally, which takes place on Friday and Saturday, as it’s the 40th edition, was back after a long hiatus, and had attracted names like Shane van Gisbergen and Hayden Paddon.
Getting to the start line involved a lot of preparation from determining what spare parts to take, car testing, analysing data, going over stage notes with co-driver Kyle Shears, practising in a race simulator, and keeping fit as rally days are long, generally from 6am to 4pm, and physically demanding.
Jigz Motorsport's Toyota Corolla FXGT.
“We’ve pulled out every possible stop we could to practise and prepare.”
The Daybreaker involves 150km of stages with the longest over 42km.
While the team was in the hunt for category honours or higher, the main aim was simply finishing.
“It’s such a game of attrition. It’s not always about being first. It’s about always finishing. A top three would be awesome in our class and that is what we’re aiming for. If we can continue to get top threes for the next two events we’ve got a really good shot at winning the title overall.”
The attrition and challenge are what attracted Parker to rallying.
“You’re always having to find the best compromise. There is no perfect solution. It’s not very common to come away from a day’s rallying where nothing has gone wrong. And you have to think on your feet in the car, and out of the car.
The Toyota Corolla FXGT after a hard workout.
“Rally driving is regarded as the most difficult, or highly skilled motorsport there is, purely because of the amount of information you have to process, how changeable the driving conditions are, and the risk factor.”
