Katsuta struggled with his pace, particularly on Friday, but there was a clear reason for that. He fell ill just before the rally and was unable to perform at his best.
Given the circumstances, driving cautiously was the sensible approach, which would have secured the Japanese driver a respectable sixth place by the end of Sunday’s rally.
However, on Sunday morning’s opening stage, Katsuta slid off the road, got stuck in a ditch, and had to retire. As a result, he left Monte-Carlo without scoring a single championship point.
According to Katsuta, an icy corner that caught him out was not marked in his pace notes. Without explicitly blaming anyone, he indirectly suggested that the collaboration with his ice-note crew may not have worked perfectly in this instance.
In Monte-Carlo, the so-called “ice-note crews” play a crucial role. These reconnaissance cars drive through the stages a couple of hours before the competition cars and try to mark down icy sections and areas where gravel or dirt has been pulled onto the road.
The special stages are originally noted several days before the rally begins, so changes to the road conditions are inevitable.
“Sunday morning in the first stage we knew that the conditions could be quite tricky, but we came to one right-hand corner that was frosty where we didn’t have that information in our pacenotes,” Katsuta explained.
“We were quite slow going into the corner, but the car went wide and got stuck in a small ditch which we couldn’t get out of.”
Katsuta will be under increased pressure at the next WRC round in Sweden in February, where he will again be scoring points for the team. Last year, he was in contention for victory against Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi but ended up in a snowbank on Saturday.
“Until then it had been quite a good rally, especially Saturday when the pace was good,” Katsuta said, referring to his fastest stage time in Monte-Carlo.
“It’s a pity but I just need to refocus on the next rally in Sweden and try to do a good job for the team there.”
Rally Sweden will take place around Umeå from 13th to 16th February.
