Toyota driver Takamoto Katsuta has stressed that he must ‘work hard to improve myself’ after a difficult season in the World Rally Championship.
Katsuta is in his fourth full season in the WRC with Toyota Gazoo Racing having come off a successful junior career in his home nation. He won the Formula Challenge Japan title in 2011 and finished as the runner-up in Japanese Formula 3 in 2013.
The 31-year-old has shown decent glimpses of his talent in rallying’s top category, too, having claimed four podiums thus far, as well as 30 stage wins.
However, Katsuta is yet to win a rally and recorded a best finish of fifth in the drivers’ standings in his second season in 2022.
Speaking with the official WRC website, the Japanese driver shared that he has been seeking the advice of one of the sport’s top names to improve his form.
Takamoto Katsuta reveals that Sebastien Ogier has told him ‘Don’t rush too much’ in the WRC
Katsuta currently sits seventh in the 2024 WRC drivers’ standings with 76 points in what has been a challenging season for the Toyota driver.
A seventh-place finish at the opening round in Monaco was followed by a crash in Sweden on Stage 10 while chasing Esapekka Lappi for the lead.
In Kenya, Katsuta recorded his best finish to date in the WRC with second and fifth in Croatia, but crashed again in Portugal and retired from Sardinia with a transmission failure.
Last time out in the WRC in Finland, Katsuta’s Toyota clattered into a tree on Stage 5 on Friday and damaged his right rear suspension, but was able to claim 11 bonus points later in the weekend.
With four rounds to go, the Japanese driver is hoping to improve his fortunes and revealed the ‘good advice’ his teammate and eight-time champion Sebastien Ogier gave him.
He said: “I just wanted to ask [Seb] from his side, because he is an eight-time world champion and he has a lot of experience.
“He has seen many different drivers and had many different teammates. We are very open-minded, so I just wanted to ask him in his eyes what I am missing. Like, why I am doing these mistakes and things.
“He told me that, basically, the speed is there and if there is no speed, it’s a bigger problem. But he told me that I have the speed and I just need to manage this speed to continue, but not to rush too much or something like this.
“It was quite good advice, but I don’t want to say too much. He is giving me so many tips and advice and, yeah, I’m going to talk again with him. I need to work hard to improve myself.”
Ogier is in contention for his ninth world championship
Ogier is one of the most successful names in the history of the WRC and the Frenchman is in the running for his ninth title.
Despite only competing in this year’s campaign part-time, the 40-year-old is second in the standings with 141 points.
Competing in six rallies thus far, Ogier has finished in the top two in all of them, winning three in the process in Croatia, Portugal and last time in Finland after he inherited the win from teammate Kalle Rovanpera’s crash.
The Frenchman is 27 points behind Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville, who has recorded seven top-five finishes, including four podiums – one being a win at the season opener in Monaco.