On the final stage of Friday morning’s loop, Katsuta made a significant impact by setting the fastest time on the Klatovy special stage, which was being run for the third time.
Katsuta beat Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville by 0.4 seconds and his teammate Sébastien Ogier by one second.
“I really enjoyed this stage, I hope it went well. The conditions were very challenging, but I had the confidence to push hard,” Katsuta commented.
Neuville, on the other hand, expressed frustration with the stage being run for a third time.
“We shouldn’t be driving stages more than twice. I tried to get through the tricky sections without taking any risks,” Neuville said.
Despite his complaints, Neuville’s overall position looks strong. He managed to increase his lead over second-placed Ogier to 3.3 seconds.
“This felt more like real racing now, with lots of muddy corners. I enjoyed it a lot, even though it’s still a bit of a strange stage for us,” Ogier remarked.
Hyundai’s Ott Tänak remains in third place, with Toyota’s Elfyn Evans in fourth.
Toyota’s Sami Pajari holds sixth place. During the morning, he was able to overtake Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux. Both Pajari and Fourmaux have had to manage without their hybrid units for nearly the entire morning.
“That was quite fun. I tried to enjoy these stages in particular. The main thing is just to get through cleanly,” Pajari said.
Two more special stages remain on Friday after the midday service. The rally will conclude on Sunday.
Central European Rally standings after SS6/18:
| POS | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1. | Thierry Neuville | Hyundai | 42:28.0 |
| 2. | Sebastien Ogier | Toyota | +3.3 |
| 3. | Ott Tänak | Hyundai | +6.3 |
| 4. | Elfyn Evans | Toyota | +7.1 |
| 5. | Takamoto Katsuta | Toyota | +18.7 |
| 6. | Sami Pajari | Toyota | +47.7 |
| 7. | Adrien Fourmaux | Ford | +58.8 |
| 8. | Gregoire Munster | Ford | +1:32.5 |
Central European Rally itinerary (CET) :
Thursday, 17 October 09.31 Shakedown: Točná (2.11 km) 15.05 SS1: SSS Velká Chuchle (2.55 km) 18.26 SS2: Klatovy 1 (11.78 km) Friday, 18 October 08.02 SS3: Klatovy 2 (11.78 km) 09.32 SS4: Strašín 1 (26.69 km) 10.42 SS5: Šumavské Hoštice 1 (16.85 km) 13.11 SS6: Klatovy 3 (11.78 km) 14.28 Remote Service (30 min) 16.14 SS7: Strašín 2 (26.69 km) 17.24 SS8: Šumavské Hoštice 2 (16.85 km) Saturday, 19 October 07.58 SS9: Granit und Wald 1 (20.05 km) 09.05 SS10: Beyond Borders 1 (24.33 km) 10.34 SS11: Schärdinger Innviertel 1 (17.35 km) 12.10 Service (40 min) 14.28 SS12: Granit und Wald 2 (20.05 km) 15.35 SS13: Beyond Borders 2 (24.33 km) 17.04 SS14: Schärdinger Innviertel 2 (17.35 km) Sunday, 20 October 09.11 SS15: Am Hochwald 1 (12.17 km) 10.35 SS16: Passauer Land 1 (14.87 km) 11.33 SS17: Am Hochwald 2 (12.17 km) 13.15 SS18: Passauer Land 2 (14.87 km)
