In March, Katsuta secured a podium finish in Kenya, but the results in other rallies have been disappointing. The last event in Portugal ended in frustration when the car’s rear suspension broke on Saturday morning.
Katsuta is currently sixth in the WRC standings. In both Portugal and Sweden, a promising start was followed by disappointment.
“My result in Portugal was not what I wanted but I had a good feeling with the car during the weekend and I hope we can take that feeling into the next rally in Sardinia,” Katsuta says.
“The gravel and the surface on this rally are a bit different, so there are some things that we need to adjust, but we had a good test in Sardinia recently and I know that the engineers and the whole team are working hard to be stronger there.”
A poor position in the WRC standings also brings some advantage for Katsuta. The Japanese driver will have a favourable starting position on Friday. On Sardinian gravel, the first cars on the road often suffer from having to clean the surface.
Katsuta will again be driving for team points for Toyota in Sardinia, so keeping the car on the road is crucial. In Portugal, Katsuta didn’t lose any team points as he wasn’t competing for them. However, points were lost in Sweden. With the current WRC points system, retirements can be very costly.
“Usually I don’t feel as confident on this event with the more slippery surface, but our starting position should be good for Friday and I will try to find confidence from the beginning,” Katsuta plans.
Rally Sardinia kicks off on Friday morning with a shakedown stage. The main event starts on Friday afternoon with a total of four special stages.
