Few could doubt that Takamoto Katsuta’s Rally Sweden performance, which netted a close second to Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans, was one of the best – if not the best – of his World Rally Championship career.
The ever-smiling Japanese driver has done much of his learning over the past five years in rallying’s top tier in the public eye. It has been a rollercoaster ride, netting five podium finishes before last week’s event while suffering a number of heartbreaking moments along the way.
But from the despair of crashing out of last year’s Rally Sweden lead battle, Katsuta bounced back to be a genuine contender for the top step of the podium throughout this year’s edition.
After snatching the rally lead on the final morning, Katsuta ultimately fell just 3.8 seconds short of snaring his maiden WRC rally win and becoming the first Japanese victor since Kenjiro Shinozuka more than 30 years ago.
He might have been pipped by a resurgent Evans – himself arguably in the form of his life – but Katsuta had proved that he truly can deliver at the highest level.
Katsuta fought for the win all-weekend long for the first time in Sweden
The service park was united in its joy for the hugely likeable 31-year-old, who bears the weight of an expectant nation on his shoulders and is desperate to repay the faith shown in him by his Toyota paymasters.
But no-one was more delighted for Katsuta than his two-time world champion team-mate, Kalle Rovanperä.
While stuck in a something of a rut with his own travails adapting to the WRC’s new Hankook rubber, Rovanperä admitted on Sunday that his attention was diverting to the thrilling lead battle.
From a team perspective, all that mattered was securing a third consecutive 1-2 finish and a hugely impressive maximum points haul from the event.
But Rovanperä was willing Katsuta to go all the way and secure a milestone victory. It was nothing against Evans, simply a reflection of his affection for his good friend Taka.
Rovanperä has noticed an improvement in Katsuta
Even though Katsuta missed out on the win, Rovanperä told DirtFish he was “really proud” of what he had achieved.
“Of course, I was really hoping that both of the guys bring home the really good points for the team championship,” he continued. “Then I was hoping that Taka would also get his first win. He’s been doing a really good job now.
“You can see that he’s having a good flow and he’s really confident. So, yeah, of course I was really hoping the guys do a good job and I was a bit sad when he didn’t come [out on top]. But at least they both got on the podium so that’s the main thing.”
Rovanperä has noticed a new mental strength in Katsuta that enabled him to stay in the fight right through to the bitter end.
“Yeah, I think he has a bit better mindset also that he knows how to approach different kinds of things,” he explained, “and he knows where to keep the pace and he’s much more consistent. So, yeah, you can see that he’s been at least now really consistent.”
In what could be a watershed moment for his career, Katsuta’s relief that he had been able to deliver under pressure was palpable. And typically, any joy was as much about repaying others’ faith, including Rovanperä – “one of my best friends” – as conquering his own self-doubt.
“Finally it worked,” he said. “And I hope he’s also happy.”
No doubt about that.
