TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program
Katsuta’s victory hopes dashed after another excellent drive
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta delivered another great drive on Rally Italia Sardegna, leading his class into the final day of the demanding gravel event before being halted by a technical issue.
Taking place on the Italian island of Sardinia, the rally is characterised by fast but technical and narrow stages lined by rocks and trees. It is usually one of the hottest rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship and this year’s event was no different, adding to the demanding conditions. This was the third time that Katsuta had taken part in the rally, which he has been strong on in the past: he finished on the WRC 2 podium in 2017 and was in contention for a similar result last year.
Sharing his Ford Fiesta R5 with co-driver Dan Barritt, Katsuta was among the frontrunners from the start of the rally, occupying third place in the class through very hot conditions on Friday. A focus on avoiding problems paid dividends as he climbed into second place at the beginning of Saturday and then into the class lead by the end of the day. Unfortunately, a broken exhaust manifold caused a small fire in the car’s engine compartment after Sunday’s first stage. Although Katsuta and Barritt were quickly able to extinguish the fire, they were forced to retire.
Jarkko Miettinen (TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Rally Challenge Program instructor):
“Taka drove really well and patiently in the rough conditions on this rally. I know that he could drive faster, but the strategy was to avoid problems and drive fast on the better sections of road. Taka and Dan did that perfectly, so it is really a shame they had to retire from the lead due to a broken exhaust manifold. The positive side is that Taka has made no driving errors for several rallies now, and without technical issues he could have already won four WRC2 events this year.”
WRC 2 Results:
1 Pierre-Louis Loubet/Vincent Landais (Skoda Fabia R5) 3h43m40.2s
2 Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda Fabia R5) +41.7s
3 Simone Tempestini/Sergiu Itu (Hyundai i20 R5) +54.6s
4 Maco Bulacia/Fabian Cretu (Skoda Fabia R5) +1m13.5s
5 Ole Christian Veiby/Jonas Andersson (Volkswagen Polo R5) +12m21.7s
Retired Takamoto Katsuta/Daniel Barritt (Ford Fiesta R5)
What’s next?
After the WRC summer break, Katsuta will contest Rally Finland on August 1-4, when he is set to use the brand new version of the Ford Fiesta R5. The event is the fastest rally on the WRC calendar, run over smooth gravel roads containing many jumps.
Pictures will be uploaded here during the event
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Quotes:
Takamoto Katsuta:
“That we had to retire from the lead was a very big disappointment. It was not how we wanted to end this rally. Everything had gone well through the two biggest days of the rally in tough conditions, and then we had a problem on the final day. But sometimes this happens in rallying and we try to move forward. We had OK speed, we were avoiding mistakes and improving a lot. I have a lot more confidence than before: this is a very positive thing. Now I want to bring this confidence to the next rally and we try to win next time.”