Takamoto Katsuta
Japan
·
WRC
Key Facts
Nationality
JAP
Date of birth
17.03.1993
Birthplace
Nagoya, Japan
Co-driver
First WRC rally
2016, Rally Finland
First WRC stage win
2020, Rally Monza SS16
WRC stage wins
41
First WRC podium
2021, Rally Kenya
WRC podiums
6
First WRC Wolf Power Stage win
2020, Rally Monza
WRC Wolf Power Stage wins
3
Best overall WRC event result
2nd Safari Rally Kenya 2021 & 2024
Best overall WRC season result
5th (2022)
About Takamoto Katsuta
Takamoto Katsuta is Japan’s leading WRC contender, carrying the hopes of Toyota Gazoo Racing and his nation as he continues his quest for a maiden rally victory.
Rallying runs in Katsuta’s blood - his father, Norihiko, was an eight-time Japanese Rally Champion and competed in WRC2 with both Rally2 and Group N machinery. However, unlike many of his peers, Katsuta’s motorsport journey began on circuits rather than gravel roads. A successful karting career led him to Formula Challenge Japan, where he won the title the following season before finishing runner-up in Japanese Formula 3 in 2013.
His switch to rallying came a year later, and it didn’t take long for Toyota Gazoo Racing to take notice. After impressing in a Toyota GT86, he was recruited into the brand’s young driver programme in 2015. Over the next few years, he competed in various European rallies, including ERC Rally Estonia, before stepping up to a Ford Fiesta R5 for his WRC debut at Secto Rally Finland.
Between 2017 and 2019, Katsuta spent three seasons in WRC2, securing two wins and three podiums before making his top-level WRC debut in Germany in 2019, this time behind the wheel of a Toyota Yaris WRC.
His full-time promotion to the WRC’s top category in 2020 came with a steep learning curve. A solid seventh-place finish in Monte-Carlo was followed by a series of crashes in Estonia, Turkey, and Monza. The lessons were harsh but valuable. He rebounded in 2021, taking a breakthrough podium at Safari Rally Kenya and finishing seventh in the championship.
Takamoto Katsuta
© WRC
The arrival of hybrid Rally1 cars in 2022 brought more success. Katsuta delivered two podiums that season - a repeat of his Kenya performance and an emotional third-place finish at FORUM8 Rally Japan in front of his home fans, ending the year fifth in the standings.
However, consistency proved elusive in 2023. A podium at Secto Rally Finland was the highlight of an otherwise mixed season, where he struggled for pace but played a key role in Toyota’s manufacturers’ championship charge. Crashes in Sweden and Mexico hampered his campaign, but his ability to score crucial points kept him in the team’s plans.
The 2024 season proved even tougher. Pushing to increase his speed, Katsuta suffered a string of accidents in Sweden, Portugal, Finland, and Greece, leading Toyota to drop him from the line-up at Rally Chile Bio Bío in favour of Sami Pajari. However, he bounced back in style, securing two consecutive fourth-place finishes at the Central European Rally and, crucially, at FORUM8 Rally Japan—helping Toyota seal the manufacturers’ title in dramatic fashion.
Katsuta returns in 2025, determined to convert his experience into results. Still searching for his first WRC victory, he remains a key part of Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Rally1 squad as he looks to take the next step in his career.
Takamoto Katsuta
© WRC