High temperatures sometimes in excess of 35 degrees centigrade and rough and rocky roads combined to provide the toughest challenge yet for the new generation of hybrid Rally1 cars. Adding to the challenge for Katsuta was his position of third on the road during Friday courtesy of his championship position following his strong performance on the previous round in Portugal. This left him facing more slippery roads than most of his competitors but he made it safely through the first full day in seventh overall.

His and co-driver Aaron Johnston’s road position was still not ideal over the remainder of the rally but Katsuta was able to increase his confidence and pace on Saturday morning. He did however damage his radiator following some impacts at the front of the car, and with no mid-day service, he had to therefore take it easy through the afternoon to successfully bring the car back to service where it could be repaired properly by his TGR WRT Next Generation team. He still gained a position to finish sixth after others dropped out, and on Sunday joined his TGR team-mates in the top five of the rally-ending Power Stage to score an additional bonus point.

Quotes:
Takamoto Katsuta:“It has been a very tough weekend with many challenges so I am pretty happy to reach the finish. This rally is always very demanding every time, but this year even more so because of the high temperatures and the rough conditions of the stages. There were some really difficult sections where it was very easy to get damage. But we were able to increase the pace a bit step-by-step. By the end of Saturday morning we had some decent pace and some confidence, but then in the afternoon loop we had to take good care of the radiator damage. Thanks to Aaron who did a very good job repairing it on the road and we managed to survive. It’s good to finish and get some more mileage and a nice feeling for Kenya, which I am really looking forward to.”

Juho Hänninen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program instructor):“Taka again did a very good job this weekend. To be driving so far up the road order in slippery conditions on Friday was another new situation for him. He didn’t find the confidence straightaway but some setup changes on the car during the weekend really helped with that, and with this knowledge we can be more prepared for Kenya. When he didn’t feel completely at one with the car, he didn’t push too hard and once more I’m very happy about that. To reach the finish and score in the Power Stage was a good way to finish a tough weekend.”