The handshake, the hug, they lasted just a touch longer on the season’s final Sunday. Standing in Japan’s Toyota City service park Sébastien Ogier beamed down at his team-mate Takamoto Katsuta.
There was a quick grin from the Japanese, before he – typically – wanted to know how he could do more. He knows round 13 was good. But still… Friday.
The accident on the event’s first full day cost Katsuta his chance of a maiden WRC win. He was the story of Japan, but what a story Japan might have had.
Ogier was both fulsome and unreserved in his praise.
“This was Taka’s most impressive drive,” he said. Pause. “Ever.”
“We never haven’t seen him on such a level for basically the totality of an event – except for his crash on Friday.
“He was having a really impressive speed for a whole weekend and we’re all happy to witness that. We know he is working very hard for that and that [he is the] kind of guy needs the confidence to be fast. Maybe he’s asked himself too many questions [in the past], but this weekend he went for it and clearly he was the best performer of the weekend, winning something like 10 stages.
“It was nice to see. I’m really happy for him.”
Hearing those words, Katsuta smiles his smile again.
“It’s nice,” Katsuta told DirtFish. “The rally gave me confidence, it gave me a lot of confidence. But I also need to understand the mistake. It’s not a negative thing, it’s just that I need to find a limit.
“I know my team-mates are very, very good – I have seen them. They are very strong at these kind of things. It’s how they bring these good results with the speed and without the mistakes. This is my next step.
“I can be optimistic, I can push more like this kind of level and that’s very important.”
Katsuta will start his first full season driving for the factory Toyota Gazoo Racing squad next season.
