Jigz Motorsport team embraces very wet Daybreaker Rally Manawatū

Jared Parker tackles another corner. Photo / Geoff Ridder Photograhy

Taking part in the Daybreaker Rally Manawatū was a great experience for a young team which excelled in tough conditions.

The Jigz Motorsport team is spearheaded by Jared Parker, a young man who grew up on the Kāpiti Coast before moving to Christchurch for university and then work.

The team was keen to take on the Daybreaker as it wasn’t far from Parker’s hometown and was on roads where his father Shane Parker established himself as one of the country’s top rally drivers.

The team had Friday to do a recce of the course which meant driving slowly in a road car, at normal pace, taking stage notes as well as video.

The team knew the roads would be dry and dusty, involve fairly tight corners and narrow straights, have a different grade of gravel chip, and rain sometimes.

And then it was all systems go in their homebuilt Toyota Corolla FXGT as the race started the next day, with Jared behind the wheel, and co-driver Kyle Shears telling him what to expect ahead.

Driving conditions were reasonable, before it started spitting, and then, just after midday, the heavens opened.

“We got hit with a weather bomb,” 24-year-old Parker said.

“It made driving extremely tricky as the roads became very slippery.

“You had to adapt a lot and make decisions about where to push the car to try and make time up, and when to hold back a bit to fight another day.

“It was the toughest conditions I’ve driven in.”

Despite the conditions, Parker and his team revelled in the challenge, and opportunity, as well as their first time competing in the rain.

“It’s where you can really start to shine and take advantage of those who are weary of the conditions.”

Jared Parker with his team and supporters. Photo / Kyle Shears

The rally involved a distance of 150km, and some stage cancellations because of a couple of serious crashes, before finishing at Manfield.

Parker was impressed with the car’s performance describing it as “the best it has ever done”.

“Leading up to the rally, we had a very challenging year, given we built the car ourselves, and had a lot of teething issues.

“But at each rally we have aimed to develop the car and learn more about it.

“It was our first chance to really feel confident about the car and be able to push it.”

The team was second in its class 5B and had a stage win in the heaviest of rain conditions.

“We were very pleased.

It was a special moment for father and son too.

“We were both in tears. I was proud of my team and myself for our best day ever, and he was the same.

“It was also the night before his birthday so it was a pretty cool present for him to see us finish in one piece and come away with such a great result.

“He was very proud.”

The team, which is tied for first in the 5B category, is looking forward to the final rally of the national series in the Bay of Plenty on October 15.