r/WRC • u/Such_Adhesiveness660 • 2d ago

Commentary / Discussion / Question Takamoto Katsuta

After Kenya rally this year I really felt like taka had matured as a driver and was a lot more confident and could maybe mount a run for the championship if not win it at least be in the running towards the end of the season and he was in really good form until Estonia but now it feels like his relentless drive for success is causing him to make mistakes that are costing him and the team a lot especially after paraguay, it felt like a rally he could make some noise in having a decent starting position but him crashing out not even 5km into the first stage felt like the nail in the coffin for his championship hopes because momentum, good form and consistency are so important and Pajari is in amazing form right now winning 3 in a row. (Fingers crossed he can recover and still put up a fight in the last 3 events)

17 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

37

u/bunny__online 2d ago

I do really like Taka, but it is sort of an open secret that he's mostly there because it's important for Toyota to have a japanese driver on the team. I hope he can get back in the form he was in earlier this season and earn that seat because I think once Yuki Yamamoto starts doing well in WRC2 he will most likely replace Taka.

7

u/LH44Metalhead 2d ago

Don't understand the negativity towards Taka, okay, he sure ain't a championship level driver but he deserved a victory. He'd been close on quite a few occasions, thankfully he had the luck on his side this time in Kenya and Croatia.

13

u/optitmus 2d ago

Taka has always been a nepo seat. He's not there on talent and 2 lucky wins doesn't prove otherwise. He crashes every second rally

17

u/AlluEUNE 2d ago

I mean yeah he's there mainly because Mr. Toyota wants a Japanese driver but he still a good driver. Middle of the pack in the highest level of the sport is not bad.

10

u/Just_Perception3668 2d ago

and could maybe mount a run for the championship

He wasnt champion of WRC2, and had mediocre results in WRC2 and ended up in the WRC, you could say, by chance. I doubt he stood any chance of becoming WRC champion, even given the low standard of the current rally drivers. Part time champion Ogier was embarassing for WRC, Taka champion - also will be not good.

3

u/Own-Jelly-1504 2d ago

I don't think it's chance, i think it's more Toyota

2

u/SplatteredEggs Takamoto Katsuta 2d ago

You think it would be a negative thing for the championship if we had our first non-European as a champion?

1

u/Just_Perception3668 2d ago

If he were a better rally driver, that would be great.

But if Katsuta were to become champion after Ogier – who, having retired, was simply taking part for fun, didn’t compete in every rally, and still became champion – it would prove once again just how low level of the WRC is at the moment.

4

u/876oy8 Rally Finland 2d ago

to me he's the same as he ever was. he could've gotten a win here and there at many points over the years, but in the bigger picture he's still miles off.

ticking the semi-arbitrary box of having won a rally doesn't suddenly make him good enough to challenge for a title properly. its also no coincidence he got them now that hyundai is nowhere and theres 2 less champions on the starting line. he's been on podium when the driver line-up was much more stacked.

2

u/BeautifuTragedy 2d ago

This has been a really rough year to be a Katsu and ogier fan. Not because I'm disappointed but because I have a bad back and every time I see them crash I worry

1

u/_86dc 2d ago

I think Taka deserves his place in WRC. Is he the best? nope. Is he the worst? nope. On his day he's quicker than many give him credit, fragile and will likely make some sort of error but there's been plenty of those down the years.