Rally Sweden is decided on fine margins. Takamoto Katsuta led after Friday’s action by a mere 2.8 seconds. By the conclusion of Saturday’s stages, that gap had expanded to 13.8s, all of which (and a bit more) was down to the morning loop of stages.
On Sarsjöliden he was the slowest Rally1 car bar gentleman driver Lorenzo Bertelli; on Vännäs and Kolksele he’d been the slowest Toyota (bar Bertelli).
What had set him off-kilter?
It was a case of fine margins.
“[It was] not lack of confidence,” Katsuta told DirtFish. “[It was a] lack of grip.”
His gripe was a minor one. The studded tires used especially for Rally Sweden in the WRC typically lose 2-3 studs during a loop – what’s underneath the snow and ice is gravel, so 100% stud retention is impossible.
Katsuta was initially confused as to why he suddenly lost so much time to Evans
Katsuta’s left-rear tire had lost “about nine or ten,” according to Hankook. It was an anomaly – and it’s currently too early to tell why that happened. But it still only represents 2.6% of total studs being lost; the total when the drivers leave service is 384 studs per tire.
“Basically, they are now trying to find out. Obviously, something wrong with one tire and some studs are gone. I don’t know why,” said Katsuta.
Is this really what cost the Toyota driver 18.9s across the first loop? His team principal Jari-Matti Latvala was the first to suggest the effect of the stud loss was as much psychological as it was practical.
“He was thinking about it maybe too much,” said Latvala. “And sometimes when you go very deep in your mind about it, then it can even affect your performance even more. But this afternoon he came back strongly and it was great to see those strong stage times by him.”
With only three stages and 37.9 miles of competitive distance remaining, Katsuta’s window of opportunity to catch Evans has narrowed significantly. But Latvala suggested Evans still doesn’t have a hand on the Sweden winners’ trophy just yet.
“He’s still in touching distance of Elfyn,” Latvala said of Katsuta. “Of course, 13 seconds is a lot to catch by driving, but Elfyn also needs to come without mistakes.
“It’s one spin and suddenly Taka is in the game, so it’s interesting to see this battle with them in the morning.”
