Samurai time for Takamoto Katsuta?

Absent since 2010, Rally Japan returns to the elite in a completely new form. While the event promises to be very selective, does the only local driver on the field have the build to don the kimono and establish himself as the hero?

Published on 08/11/2022 à 12:00

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Takamoto Katsuta, TOYOTA GAZOO RACING WRT © Red Bull

It is certain that the 2022 version of the Rally of Japan should be on point. This will also be the case for Takamoto Katsuta. It dragged on, but this time, for sure, Rally Japan is back in WRC. Refused by the manufacturers in 2019, because the calendar was already busy with Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Australia, it reappeared in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic led to its cancellation when everything was ready. The same mishap repeated itself last year. For several weeks, the organizers wanted to believe that it would be possible to host the last round of the season, but they ended up throwing in the towel. Before throwing everything in the dumpster, the members of the Toyota Motorsports Club (TMSC) had prepared everything twice (road book, maps, timing, service park plan, poster, etc.) 12 months apart for the smooth running of the event.

Katsuta, from the track to the special stages

Initially, rallying was not the favorite discipline of Takamoto Katsuta, born in Nagoya (350 km west of Tokyo). Takamoto, however, had a history. Indeed, his grandfather Teruo ran (7 appearances at the RAC between 1975 and 1983) and he was 6 years old when his father, Norihiko, tried this discipline for the first time, in 1999. At 53 years old, this last one is still active and will be at the start of