TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program Katsuta climbs the learning curve on Mexico debut 20.03.2023: TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta experienced one of the FIA World Rally Championship’s toughest events for the first time on the return of Rally México, learning all about its unique demands even though a small error derai

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta experienced one of the FIA World Rally Championship’s toughest events for the first time on the return of Rally México, learning all about its unique demands even though a small error derailed any chance of a strong result.



Welcoming back the WRC for the first time since 2020, Rally México was the first gravel event of the season and is known for its high altitude with a route peaking at over 2700 metres above sea level. With the thinner air reducing engine power by as much as 20 per cent, drivers must be able to carry good momentum while also having to take care of their cars and tyres on a loose and rocky surface and in high ambient temperatures.



Katsuta was driving a fourth GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID entry outside of the main TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team line-up and, without the previous experience of the rally and its stages that many of his fellow drivers had, the priority was for him to try to adapt to the considerable challenges and learn as much as possible across the weekend.



After Thursday’s night’s spectacular opening stages on the streets of Guanajuato, the rally climbed into the mountains above the city on Friday morning where several cars and drivers soon hit trouble in the notoriously difficult El Chocolate test. Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston made it safely through that stage and the subsequent Ortega test, but came unstuck in the Las Minas stage that rounded out the morning loop, where a spin on the low-grip surface took them off the road.



Although they were unable to continue, the damage to their car was relatively light and could be repaired that evening so they could return under restart rules on Saturday morning. Having to run early in the reversed road order meant Katsuta had limited grip available, but he was able to complete all of the event’s remaining kilometres to add to his knowledge and understanding of the stages.





Quotes:


Takamoto Katsuta:“This was a difficult rally for me because all of the stages were new for me and it was hard to know what to expect. I had to be a bit cleverer on Friday; maybe I was in too much of a rush to move forwards and one mistake cost us quite a lot. It was a very high-speed section and I was a little bit optimistic on the braking point, a bit too late to turn in and we lost the line.


Thank you to the team for fixing the car. It was not so easy to get back the confidence and the feeling, but it was nice to finish the rally and get some experience on all of the different stages. I found that the grip levels are changing a lot – more than I had expected after the recce – and it’s not easy to trust it 100 per cent. The car was amazing but I was not able to use its full performance. Hopefully next time I can do that and have a better result.”



Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WRT):“Taka certainly had a learning curve to climb on his first time at Rally México. Of course he wanted to do well this weekend, but I think this is one of those events where on your first time you can’t really be close to the pace of the top guys, because it’s a very specific event:


the gravel is slippery, there are a lot of surface changes, and you really need to learn these roads in order to succeed here. Taka found that out the hard way on Friday but the most important thing is that, thanks to the team who fixed the car, he could get back out there to learn and get that experience for the future.”






Results:

    1 Sébastien Ogier/Vincent Landais (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID)    3h16m09.4s

    2 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID)    +27.5s

    3 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID)    +27.9s

    4 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID)    +1m55.3s

    5 Dani Sordo/Cándido Carrera (Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRID)    +2m58.8s

    6 Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Škoda Fabia RS Rally2)    +12m31.5s

    23 Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota GR YARIS Rally1 HYBRID)    +1h04m34.5s




What’s next?

The Croatia Rally on April 20-23 is the first pure asphalt round of the season, held on challenging roads around the capital city, Zagreb. As well as a mixture of fast and technical sections, the stages feature constant surface and grip changes.


- Toyota also photos