Takamoto Katsuta has endured a difficult time at Rally Finland after a heavy crash saw the Toyota driver lose a wheel.
The Japanese talent, who currently sits seventh in the WRC standings, clattered into a tree during SS5 and damaged his right-rear suspension.
Katsuta failed to bring his Toyota GR Yaris back to the Jyvaskyla service park as a result of the crash, which ruled him out of the rest of Friday’s action at the same venue he took third place last year.
Coming into the event, Katsuta was in good form after scoring top-10 finishes in Poland and Latvia before a lacklustre Friday in Finland.
Katsuta gives his verdict on the Toyota driver’s Rally Finland crash
Rally Finland is notoriously challenging, and the introduction of virtual chicanes has allowed the iconic Ouninpohja stage to return after seven years.
The 32.98km gravel stage is so eagerly anticipated that the organisers arranged a merchandise range for the Ouninpohja stage alone.
But Katsuta will go into Saturday on the backfoot after a heavy crash on SS5 left the Toyota driver with substantial damage. And while he tried to return to the service park for repairs, the extent of the damage proved too significant.
Katsuta explained the incident, via motorsport.com: “At the beginning of the stage there was a tight corner with some trees. I managed to brake ok, but the rear snapped so I went a bit wide and I hit the tree on the exit of the corner.
“The wheel nearly came off, but we managed to finish the stage. We tried to fix it to come back to service, but on the way back the wheel completely came off. So, we were on three wheels, and we were not able to come back.”
The Japanese driver missed multiple stages and lost valuable time ahead of the weekend by being forced to sit out the action on Friday.
Multiple other drivers have hit trouble at Rally Finland
Ott Tanak, the 2019 WRC champion, will also take no further part in Rally Finland after a crash on Friday morning in stage three.
The Estonian hit a tree in his Hyundai i20 before his car rolled while tackling gripless conditions at Saarikas. Hyundai confirmed that both Tanak and his co-driver, compatriot Martin Jarveoja, are both ok.
The incident put a dent into his title hopes; Tanak sat second in the standings heading into the rally, looking to overturn an eight-point deficit on Belgian Thierry Neuville, who is chasing his first WRC title.
Hyundai’s Esapekka Lappi also retired from the event after hitting a tree on stage six, damaging the right rear corner of his car. The Finn took victory at Rally Sweden earlier this season but suffered a difficult start to his home event.