Rally Finland started well for Toyota, and the team was even leading with a quadruple lead at the beginning of the competition. Then Takamoto Katsuta broke the rear wheel of his car by hitting a tree. That started an unfortunate chain of events, which did not end even on the final day.
On Sunday, things got much worse for Toyota when first Elfyn Evans veered off into the undergrowth, and moments later, Kalle Rovanperä was found in the bushes. Rovanperä had been leading the rally overwhelmingly until his crash and would have secured his first career home victory if it hadn’t been for the loose rock in the middle of the road.
The atmosphere of the rally deflated immediately after Rovanperä’s crash. Before the closing ceremonies, the mood was relatively gloomy.
Takamoto Katsuta was also in low spirits. The Japanese Toyota driver and Rovanperä are good friends.
“I just sent him a quick message,” Katsuta said.
“It was such incredible bad luck, but he is mentally a very strong guy. He seemed to be okay based on his message, but I can still imagine that this situation is not easy for him. I am very sad for him,” Katsuta said.
Katsuta was, of course, also disappointed for Evans. The Welshman decided to retire on Saturday, and on Sunday he went off. Thus, Evans didn’t get a single point from Finland. One could almost say that Evans has fallen out of the championship race.
“It’s unbelievable what happened to Kalle and Elfyn. But we are all pushing to the very limits here. There is no room for any mistakes. So I understand very well that this can happen. I am truly sorry for both of them,” Katsuta lamented.
