It appeared as if Takamoto Katsuta followed the expected trend. You win once, it’s easier to do so twice.
Kimi Antonelli serves as a strong example over in Formula 1. Winning his first Grand Prix in 2026, the Mercedes driver then won another four in succession.
After years of trying, Toyota World Rally Championship pilot Takamoto Katsuta claimed a long awaited and hugely popular breakthrough win at this year’s Safari Rally Kenya.
He then immediately followed that up with another victory at the next round in Croatia, albeit in unusual circumstances after Thierry Neuville crashed out of a one-minute rally lead on the final stage.
Katsuta himself talked about feeling “lighter” prior to Croatia after proving to himself he can win at WRC level, and the result reflected that benefit.
But since then, the Japanese driver has failed to return to the podium and has been outperformed by all four of his team-mates.
Rally Japan was a disappointment for home favorite
The recent Rally Japan was a particular blow, as Katsuta ran wide on the opening stage and dropped his wheel into a drainage ditch, causing a puncture. That had major ramifications for the following stage, as he had lost a soft tire from his package and badly needed that compound for the damp test.
Katsuta recovered on the final two days to finish fourth, but his head dropped significantly on Friday.
The desire, and pressure, to win at home was a clear factor, but Toyota technical director Tom Fowler suspects an unspoken side effect of winning has also affected Katsuta.
Once you achieve a particular goal, nothing else will do. Now that Katsuta has won, accepting anything less is a challenge.
“What I’ve noticed over the years is that winning… well maybe it’s not actually that good,” Fowler wrote in his exclusive column for Club DirtFish.
You think that you're going to come to a road where everything starts to feel easy, but actually it just gets more difficult.Tom Fowler
“When you win, you’re happy for like maybe 10 minutes or a day. But when you lose, you’re so p****d off for like two weeks – one of the main reasons to win is to not be p****d off for two weeks!
“Then you have to do it again, and all the work starts again. And perhaps this, along with increased expectation… you think that you’re going to come to a road where everything starts to feel easy, but actually it just gets more difficult.
“And that’s probably where Taka’s been in the last few weeks. But I don’t think it’s a problem. I think it’s normal in his situation.”
To read Fowler’s column in full, sign up to Club DirtFish where you can also read a two-time world champion Marcus Grönholm’s column
