Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta says he wants to make a “nice result” for his absent World Rally Championship co-driver Dan Barritt at this week’s Acropolis Rally.
Katsuta will start his second event with Keaton Williams alongside him instead of Barritt, who remains on the bench following his Rally Estonia injury.
“Dan might not be with me in the car on this rally, but he is still very much part of the team,” Katsuta told DirtFish.
“I want to have a good rally in Greece, and make sure we do everything right – I want to make a nice result for Dan.”
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing
Barritt may also miss next month’s round in Finland, with Williams named alongside Katsuta on the entry list for the October 1-3 event.
Team principal Jari-Matti Latvala said he was not worried about Katsuta’s speed following his high-speed roll last time out on the Ypres Rally.
Latvala, a man not unused to the odd inversion in his time behind the wheel, said: “This [Ypres] was his first mistake of the season. So I said to him that every driver will make two mistakes every season, this is what happens when you are driving at this level.
“Estonia was a tough rally for him and for Dan as well, but that wasn’t anybody’s fault, it was one of those things.
Photo: Toyota Gazoo Racing
“I’m not worried about anything for Taka. He knows [Acropolis] is a new rally.”
It’s that support from across the team that is inspiring Katsuta next week.
“It’s full support,” he said. “And I want to return it with a result.
“I know Greece will be tough, but what happened in Belgium has happened and I don’t think to that at all.
“My full focus is to the next event – there will be a lot of rocky sections, so we really need to study and work hard in the recce. But like I said, with Dan and everybody, I feel I have some very good people around me.”
