Kovalainen set the most fastest stage times over the weekend at the asphalt rally held around Karatsu, but the victory went to Japanese veteran Norihiko Katsuta. In the end, Kovalainen was left 43 seconds behind the winner.
Kovalainen made a decisive mistake on the ninth special stage. The former F1 driver spun his Toyota GR Yaris Rally2 car and lost about 50 seconds.
From the two rounds of the Japanese rally series this season, Kovalainen has now taken two second places. After the weekend’s rally, the Finn was feeling a little frustrated.
“It’s been a disappointing start to the season again. But the mistake couldn’t be helped. The pace just wasn’t there in either the wet or drying conditions,” Kovalainen said, according to the Japanese Rallyplus site.
“Still, I’m glad to at least bring home some points.”
Like Kovalainen, Katsuta, 56, is also competing with a Toyota Rally2 car and has won both of this season’s events. For the Karatsu rally, he received crucial help from Finland, where Toyota’s Rally2 car has been developed and built.
“Having an engineer come from Finland made a huge difference this time. He even switched the car to a wet setup this morning in response to surface updates. Thanks to that, I was able to drive without pushing too hard,” Katsuta said in thanks.
“That said, I still can’t match Heikki’s outright speed, so I’ll keep working at it step by step,” Katsuta added.
The next round of the Japanese rally series will be held in mid-May.
