Toyota and Katsuta. The two reasons why Japanese rallying is where it is today.
The reverence with which Takamoto Katsuta and his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 were greeted at home earlier this year was a sight to behold. When the two-time World Rally winner pulled into Enakyo Park on Saturday, his countryfolk simply stopped and stared – it was somewhere between admiration and outright awe.
But actually, if you want to better understand the foundations for Japan’s love of rallying, you need to step back a generation. Two actually, and look to a different Katsuta. And a different time for Toyota.
Katsuta Sr – Takamoto’s father – Norihiko, as we know, is one of the country’s most successful drivers domestically. But where did his passion come from?
Try his father, Taka’s grandfather, Teruo Katsuta.
He’s the man who laid those foundations for where his grandson sits today. Aged 18, he was employed hand-hammering sheet metal in the production of Toyota Crowns – he actually helped build the firm’s first in-house prototype race car, the Toyota 7. But it was rallying, not racing, that truly fired his imagination.
For the last five decades, Teruo has helped build the sport in Japan. He developed his own motorsport business, LUCK Auto Equipment, starting out of his mother’s garage and growing it into the cornerstone of the sport’s Asian supply chain it remains today. Rally Japan itself wouldn’t be where it is if Teruo hadn’t had the vision for the original Shinshiro Rally.
And his appetite for finding new ways to help the sport still knows no bounds. If there’s an itinerary change to Japan’s WRC counter, it’s probably because Teruo has found or remembered a new road or an old route.
He’s the man who helped influence making Toyota’s GT86 rear-wheel drive in conversation with Akio Toyoda. The chairman of Toyota and Teruo are long, long-time acquaintances who share two passions: rallying and the world’s biggest automaker. Katsuta’s counsel also paved the way for Toyota’s WRC return in 2017.
Talking to him, he smiles a patient smile as his shaping of history is pored over. But move the subject on to one thing in particular and he beams beatifically.
Britain’s RAC Rally. The original one.
“The Lombard,” Teruo grins. “I was the first Japanese driver to get an FIA class win. I went to this rally seven times. There had been Japanese drivers in the Monte Carlo Rally and the Safari, but they were driving Nissans. I wanted to do something a little bit different, so I went to England with a Toyota Celica. I didn’t speak very much English, but the cars were driven on the same side of the road, so this made it a little bit easier.”
Does he remember much about the route? Again, the smile widens. He remembers plenty.
“Wales, I like Wales. But Scotland, I was no good and Kielder… I still remember Kielder.”
Katsuta’s first RAC was in 1975 but the class win came in 1983 driving a Toyota Sprinter he bought in the UK.
That 1983 event was the end of his world championship adventures and time to focus on the business. It wouldn’t be too long before there was another Katsuta in the stages as Taka’s father took to the sport as soon as he could.
“He got his licence when he was 17 and he was straight in,” recalls Teruo. “He is a very good driver. But Taka…”
There’s the pause as he considers how to explain what his grandson has done.
“…he is next level. He is the first time a Japanese driver is really at this level and winning rallies like he has done. He is now at the level many Japanese drivers want to get to. I am very proud of what he’s doing.”
Talk to grandson Taka and, predictably, the pride is reciprocated.
“Of course,” says the current Toyota star, before looking slightly bashful. “But I don’t remember exactly what he did. It was a long time ago. I know he went to RAC Rally and he was the first one from Japan to win his class in WRC. For this, I am very proud.
“But also because of what he is still doing. He has helped and helps for the culture of the sport in Japan, he is still helping to make the sport bigger and bigger [in Japan]. And his business, LUCK, is doing a rally team as well as more, like, customized cars and a tuning shop. This business was quite important in my switch from circuit to rallying as a sport.”
Three generations, three storied and super-successful rally drivers from one nation and one family. Japan truly owes the Katsutas a significant debt of gratitude.
Additional reporting by Sam Dyer
