Takamoto Katsuta is heading to Croatia Rally as part of a very small club of people for the very first time: World Rally Championship event winners. He’s now among the current crop of six elite drivers to have stood on the top step at rallying’s highest level.
The outpouring of emotion from the moment he crossed the flying finish at Hell’s Gate in Kenya was clear. Even two hours after bringing a 94-rally wait for a maiden WRC win to an end, he was already feeling a difference.
“One of the big things is the weight lifted a bit off of the shoulders,” Katsuta told DirtFish at the finish. “I should be more relaxed for the next rallies, but it does not mean anything is easier.”
He’s now had three weeks to digest those emotions.
First-time winner was overcome with emotion at the end of Safari Rally Kenya
The first win tends to create a mental shift in a driver. You’ve done it once, so you can do it again. In Katsuta’s case, it’s as if the time he was chasing a first WRC win belongs in the distant past, a fading memory.
“It already feels like one year ago,” said Katsuta. “It’s a long time ago in my head.
“I was in Japan and did some events [Red Bull Tokyo Drift] and it was such a nice event as well. But I’m fully focused for next rally in Croatia.
“I almost forgot what happened, but yeah, it was one of the nice memories.”
Now he’s gotten back aboard the wheel of a GR Yaris Rally1 for his Croatia pre-event test, he might not be a completely different driver – but his perspective has shifted ever so slightly with that Safari win in the bag.
Katsuta won the Super Sunday element of Croatia Rally in 2024
“Before I was never thinking about whether I had crazy pressure or not but now, after Kenya, I feel a bit of a lighter feeling,” said Katsuta.
“Probably I had a kind of pressure but it was quite normal for me, so I didn’t feel that it was making things any worse. But it just feels much more relaxed, easier to focus for next one and to think about the big picture, the whole weekend and the whole season.
“I need to be focused for the next rally; that’s my target. Clearly it was a great weekend, also seeing how much I had a pressure kind of feeling before. But now I feel very good and I hope that we can achieve another good result in the future.”
Katsuta has contested every WRC edition of Croatia Rally, scoring a best result of fifth in 2024 and a trio of sixth places.
