WRC
Katsuta praises WRC safety after heavy Paraguay crash
Takamoto Katsuta has praised the safety standards of modern WRC machinery after walking away from what he described as one of the biggest impacts of his career at ueno Rally del Paraguay.
Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston crashed heavily on Sunday’s penultimate Artigas test, prompting the stage to be red-flagged and not restarted.
Both were transported by helicopter to a local hospital for precautionary examinations and were released later the same afternoon.
“It was a really big accident,” Katsuta said. “I would say, in my career, the impact itself was one of the biggest I’ve had.
“I wasn’t able to get out of the car because it was so painful. But at least we are here, and that shows how safe the car is and how well it is built from the safety side.
“A big thanks to the regulations because all of the safety and protection is well covered. At the same time, everything was organised very well to get us to the hospital quickly enough.”
Katsuta explained that the accident began when his Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 suddenly stepped out of line.
“The car just snapped a little bit there and I tried to correct it,” he said. “Then there was a small bank on the inside which I clipped a little bit.
“The car started to lift on the inside. I was trying to recover from this, but there was an outside bank as well, so I wasn’t able to turn to the left.
“Unfortunately, there was just a small lip, but somehow it was enough to start the roll.”
It brought a difficult Paraguay weekend to a premature conclusion for the Japanese driver, who had already rolled on Friday morning’s opening stage.
Toyota repaired his car for a Saturday restart and Katsuta gradually rebuilt his confidence, eventually winning the day-ending Encarnación Costanera super special.
© WRC
Sunday’s accident therefore came as another setback, but Katsuta was determined to view the weekend in perspective.
“Sometimes in life and in my career things are good and sometimes they are bad,” he said. “It’s part of the game.
“Unfortunately, this weekend didn’t go in a positive way, but we just need to learn from this, improve and get better for the next one. This is what I can do and what I should do.
“I must say a big thanks to the whole team and, at the same time, sorry to them. All of the support from the team is always helping me to improve.
“I just need to work hard, continue working hard and get better.”
Among those checking on Katsuta following the accident was FIA President H.E. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who contacted him shortly afterwards.
“Mohammed sent me a message straight away,” Katsuta revealed. “They were worried about us and I really appreciated that.
“Of course, I must also mention all the fans supporting and cheering for us. It’s quite incredible here. I really appreciate how they are supporting us and this sport.”
