Speaking for the first time since sitting out last month’s Rally Chile, Takamoto Katsuta has told DirtFish how he plans to return to Toyota’s factory team stronger than ever at next week’s Central European Rally.
Benched for the South American event following a run of mid-season mistakes, the Japanese driver was back in the car for his pre-event Tarmac test last week.
“It was good to be back,” he said. “The test was good. It was pretty wet weather, I didn’t get to drive in completely dry conditions. It looks like the rally will be dry, which is maybe better for the road [condition]. It was good to be driving and getting some mileage again.”
Reflecting on the last month, Katsuta admitted he’d been moved by the support he’d received from the team.
Katsuta returns to the GR Yaris Rally1 for the last two rounds of the season
“Honestly,” he added, “I really feel the team behind me and now I have to make the result to pay them back for this support. I really appreciate [the support] from the guys, the drivers like Séb [Ogier] and Kalle [Rovanperä] and Elfyn [Evans] – but also I want to tell you about people like Tom [Fowler, technical director], Kévin [Struyf, engineering manager] and the other engineers.
“You know, these people have been around the sport for a while now – they have so much experience from this team and others and from other drivers. The way they have helped me has been incredible, they have worked with me outside of their engineering side and helped me on a personal level. I feel very humble and very happy to have them with me.
“To know they still believe in me means so much from people who see this job from a different way to me. They see through the eyes of the engineer and they could tell me different things to what I was thinking for myself. It’s with their help that I will be able to come back stronger. I want to do a good job to pay back everything they did for me.”
Talking about missing Chile specifically, Katsuta admitted his plan to steer clear of DirtFish didn’t work.
Katsuta is grateful for the support he's received from inside and outside Toyota
He said: “Through Chile I was trying to switch off and not to watch. But you cannot switch off the passion we have for this sport, so I was automatically going and watching a little bit on DirtFish. The guys were telling me not to, but I couldn’t help it.
“The situation has felt very, very difficult and it’s been a very, very tough moment for me. Life is hard sometimes, but we just keep working.
“Honestly, as difficult as this time was, it also showed me where the support was coming from – you know who was helping me and who I should trust and appreciate in these tough moments. There were many people from outside the team – some from the other teams – who were calling me and helping me. Like I said, now I want to repay those people who have supported me.”
Katsuta admitted he will take a measured approach to next week’s CER, with the aim of building his confidence towards his home rally in Japan next month.
He said: “For CER, I need to almost forget about the result, not think about that and just focus on my driving and if I can do that then I think the result will be OK.
“I have been really stressed and frustrated with myself. This is because of the mistakes, but also because I feel I have the speed and I’ve got to do a better job to turn that speed into a result – that’s the frustrating part. But, like I said, for next week it’s a time to build.”
Asked if Toyota’s hopes of a fourth straight manufacturers’ title added pressure in Toyota City, Katsuta said: “Japan anyway is going to be huge pressure with or without the championship situation. That doesn’t bother me, I know what to expect on that event. I just want to make the team proud, to make Toyota proud and to do my job.”
Katsuta was, of course, the undoubted star of last year’s Rally Japan, dominating the weekend stages in a scintillating fightback after being caught out by horrible conditions on the event’s opening morning.
