Fri 07 Jul 2023
Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala has talked of Takamoto Katsuta’s ‘remarkable’ Safari Rally Kenya performance as a further indication of the Japanese being a growing force in the FIA World Rally Championship.
The Finn is hoping to see Katsuta on the podium as the second half of the season gets underway in Estonia later this month.
Katsuta recovered from a shakedown roll to complete a second successive one-two-three-four result for the Finnish-based Toyota squad.
Latvala said: “It is amazing that Taka has made three starts in Kenya and that his results have been second, third and fourth. That for me is pretty remarkable on such a demanding rally.
“We saw some action in this event from Taka and hopefully that can be turned into some podium finishes in the second half of the season.
“Mentally it’s not easy to have a big accident before the rally and to try to come back from that, but Taka bounced back really well and was getting stronger and stronger during the event. In that sense he did a great job.”
While Katsuta is at home on the fast gravel rallies, his only podium in the second half of last season came at Rally Japan.
Finland
Italy
Hungary