The Japanese driver, who joined Toyota’s programme alongside compatriot Shotaro Goto, competed for the third time in the SM3 category over the weekend. Matsushita, 24, showed remarkable progress during the Rally Kitee, illustrating how much he has developed over recent months.
Matsushita faced technical issues with his Renault Clio Rally4 right from the first stage, but he and co-driver Pekka Kelander managed to get the car running again on the liaison section. Due to time losses and a penalty, Matsushita fell nearly three minutes behind the SM3 category leader during the first three stages.
However, after the first service break, Matsushita was back in action, consistently clocking times within the top three across the final seven stages. His speed was evident, as he finished just 24 seconds slower over those stages than promising talent Tuukka Kauppinen, who has significantly more rally experience. Kauppinen secured the class victory in Kitee and clinched the SM3 championship.
Matsushita ultimately finished sixth in the SM3 class. Without his early issues, he could have been in contention for a podium on Kitee’s fast gravel roads.
“It was the best rally of my life so far! I had a great feeling behind the wheel; our big step forward on this event was from the quality of the pacenotes I’d made, which really helped with my rhythm. I was able to build up a more precise image of the road than ever before and attack the road, as I can trust the pacenotes I’d made with Pekka,” Matsushita said excitedly.
Matsushita feels he has made tremendous strides in his rally career.
“At the first rally in Pohjanmaa I had to focus on making it through the corners to reach the finish – but now I have a lot of leftover mental capacity to consider how to maximise my pace. I went from believing in myself that I could compete with the best drivers in Finland at the start of this program to matching their pace by the end of the season.”
Toyota’s Challenge Programme coach Mikko Hirvonen has been closely following the juniors throughout the year. The former top driver was thrilled with Matsushita’s performance in Kitee.
“It was a really strong performance from Takumi, his best of the season. He was unlucky to run into technical issues on the opening stage but his comeback was incredibly impressive,” Hirvonen praised.
“He demonstrated how much he’s learned this year with how consistently fast he was. He was really close to the fastest drivers in Finland in his category, which is especially impressive given how high speed yet technical the roads were,”
Matsushita’s teammate, Goto, had to retire after going off the road on the first stage in Kitee.
According to Hirvonen, the new Toyota recruits have successfully navigated their first season.
“Across the season their progress has been clear, with mistakes being few and far between. Considering they started this year with zero experience of driving to pacenotes and faced a completely new environment, we are very impressed with what they have achieved in 2024.”
