Given he is his boss, Takamoto Katsuta is well-accustomed to listening to what Jari-Matti Latvala has to say.
But Latvala, still the most experienced driver in the history of the World Rally Championship, has particularly relevant advice for Katsuta when it comes to ironing out his sticky run of form.
Stay calm and be less like him.
That may sound counter-intuitive given Latvala, on his day, was one of if not the fastest driver in the championship. But the Finn was often known to make costly errors and never claimed the world title his talent looked destined to deserve.
Katsuta’s been through peaks and troughs throughout his career, but currently is suffering a bit of a dip despite some improved speed. While it seems clear the Japanese has the pace to win rallies, he’s yet to display the temperament to do so.
Katsuta's results have not matched his speed so far this season
“He’s been lifting the performance this year,” Latvala, Toyota’s team principal, told DirtFish.
“And I know that he’s thinking: he’s trying to improve and make stage times and make it better.
“But sometimes he’s attacking on the places which are not necessarily the most ideal places to gain time. They are like risky places where it’s not really easy to gain time.
“So we just need to think a little bit differently that the times are made in a very fast sectors. But not like, you know, if it’s a slow corner with narrow places and then you don’t make so much difference.
“And that’s where sometimes I think we just need to have a bit more talk with Taka to understand him, that he understands where to make the difference and not going in the wrong places, basically.”
Katsuta himself does recognize this.
“Yeah, for sure, something needs to change in my mind, I think,” he told DirtFish. “So, just, kind of approach, or mindset, let’s say.
Katsuta knows how he can improve his form
“But like, I think you all have seen that this weekend [in Finland], how many people [are] making mistakes, and there is no margin at all, everybody going flat-out. But, when this kind of moment’s coming, and you are fighting, I am, quite maybe often that probably a little bit over-pushing in a few places so I just need to do more, let’s say, thinking that rally is a long weekend so not like a sprint every single corner, so maybe I need a bit more wider view to prepare the rally.
“I mean prepare and also like doing the rally I think. This is just my opinion but this is what I’m thinking.”
Essentially he needs to dial it back a notch and “calm down” when he finds himself in the fight at the front in order to achieve a result to match.
“I know I have speed,” he said. “Some stages and some rallies feel very good, comfortable with quite a good speed, so just I want to prove that by [getting a] result.
“Then I start to rush and rush and I really want to make good result, then I f*** up.
“So I just need to, let’s say, calm down, and to, like I said, [have] more [of a] wider view, to prepare the rally, and approaching the rally, and approaching the stages. I think is what I need to do for myself.”
Katsuta won the powerstage in Finland after retiring on Friday with damage
Katsuta has strong support from Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda and the entire Gazoo Racing World Rally Team, which was exemplified by Latvala’s response when asked if there was any frustration with the amount of mistakes Katsuta is making.
“Well, if you look at the beginning of the year, I mean, speed-wise, it was good,” Latvala said. “But yes, it’s true, there’s been mistakes.
“And then there is this situation when he’s getting in the competition, when he wants to really get on the podium, or he had a chance in Sweden to fight for the victory, he had a chance in Portugal to fight for the podium.
“Then sometimes he gets maybe a little bit too excited about it. And that is the way to be able to control it. And that’s, I think, the step we just need to do with him.”
As Katsuta said himself, he needs to be calm.
“Calm, calm,” Latvala reiterated. “That was also a problem for young driver Latvala!”
