After finishing on the podium at last month’s Rally Finland as part of the main TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team line-up, Katsuta would drive an additional fourth GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID for just his second start in Greece after making his debut one year ago. His preparation was complicated by disruption to pre-event testing due to the threat of wildfires in Greece, meaning his test took place on less representative roads in Finland. Torrential rain then impacted reconnaissance for all crews and led to the cancellation of Thursday’s shakedown ahead of the rally start.

That meant Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston went into Friday’s first full day of stages having not driven at speed on Greek gravel for 12 months, but they nonetheless set a competitive pace while avoiding issues in the varied conditions, which included wet and muddy sections as well as the drier and rocky roads usually associated with the Acropolis. Katsuta ended Friday by climbing up to sixth overall, only 10 seconds away from a close fight for the podium places.

Saturday’s opening stage Pavliani had some of the most challenging conditions of the rally in terms of mud, and Katsuta was looking set to gain another place before a spin in a narrow section cost him around 30 seconds. Further trouble would follow in SS11 Karoutes 2 in the afternoon, where Katsuta stopped twice to change wheels and tyres, losing more than four minutes. He was nonetheless able to finish in sixth place, matching his result from last year.

Quotes:
Takamoto Katsuta:“This was very tough weekend, especially for us with no test here in Greece and no shakedown. Going straight into the first stages, it was a big challenge for us but we could finish the rally. Thanks to the team as they did a great job. Of course, we had some issues and the double puncture and lost a lot of time from this. But otherwise, compared to last year, the pace was much, much better. I’m not totally happy with my performance but I also found where I really need to improve on this kind of rally, so there are some positives and negatives and this will help me for the future. Big congratulations to the team for a great result with Kalle and Elfyn, and I will try to do my best on the next rally in Chile.”

Kaj Lindström (Sporting Director, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT):“It was a challenging week for all of the drivers but even more so for Taka, because he was not able to test the car here in Greece and try the setup. Then shakedown was cancelled, so he didn’t get to try the car until the rally began. So it was a really good job from him with nice driving. It was a pity about the double puncture in the same stage on Saturday, otherwise he could have finished higher. Still, being sixth overall, I would say he has done a really good job and can now look forward to Rally Chile.”