Katsuta was performing well in Portugal and was impressively in third place on Saturday until misfortune struck.
During the rally’s 12th special stage, Katsuta hit a bank, damaging the car’s rear suspension and leading to a retirement.
“In one of the high-speed sections, on a right-hand corner followed immediately by a left. In that right-hand corner, I already lost a bit of line, then slightly hit the bank on the next corner on the left side. So there was damage to the suspension and a few other things. That’s when we decided to stop,” Katsuta recounted his accident.
Katsuta was uncertain about what he hit.
“For sure, it was something very hard. With this speed, the car is strong enough because we survived the Safari and it should not have been a problem. But, for sure, this kind of impact was a bit too much,” Katsuta said.
While all Toyota drivers had complaints about their cars on Friday, Saturday was somewhat better.
“I felt a very good feeling Saturday morning right away. The car was working very well; the only thing was maybe I was not able to fully utilize the car’s capabilities. But at that moment, I felt very good with the car. That’s why it feels more disappointing,” Katsuta lamented.
Katsuta, however, took responsibility for the error.
“If I say, okay, it was just unlucky or just a lack of luck, then for sure this kind of thing will happen again. So, for me, there’s definitely something wrong on my side and I need to fix it. As you already know, there is a very small margin when you are really pushing. But if you start avoiding these small mistakes, then you are quite far from where you want to be,” Katsuta emphatically stated.
Katsuta also experienced a painful crash in Sweden, but the situation in Portugal was slightly different.
“It’s a bit different from the situation in Sweden. There I was really pushing to the limit. But this time, I was pushing but not really on the limit. Something I did not expect happened, then I lost the line and probably there was a bit less grip or something. We can surely learn from these kinds of situations,” Katsuta said.
