Katsuta was in superb form during the early stages of the asphalt rally and halfway through was firmly in the fight for victory, just 5.2 seconds off the lead.
But then it all went wrong.
The Japanese driver hit an obstacle with his Toyota, damaging the power steering and radiator. Although he was able to continue, he was ultimately forced to retire on Saturday.
Katsuta was allowed to rejoin on Sunday to perform in front of his home fans, but it did little to lift his spirits.
“I just want to delete my memory,” Katsuta laughed when asked if there was anything positive to take away from the rally.
“I mean, of course in this kind of situation it’s not easy to change your mindset. After a big, big disappointment it’s really hard to recover from that, especially in your home country,” he said frankly.
Katsuta paid tribute to his Japanese fans, who continued to cheer him on throughout the weekend even in difficult moments. The Toyota driver also thanked the company’s chairman Akio Toyoda and acting team principal Juha Kankkunen for their words of encouragement.
“There were incredible fans from so early in the morning in the rain, and it was incredible to see them all. At the same time, I felt so sorry for them because they wanted to see something different for sure,” Katsuta commented.
“I definitely need to make a big improvement and try again,” he added.
Katsuta will have another chance in a couple of weeks at Rally Saudi Arabia, which will host the season finale – and for the first time ever.
“Nobody has been there, so it’s going to be very tough and probably a Kenya-spec kind of approach. It’s important to finish the season with a good feeling,” Katsuta concluded.
