How Hyundai snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as Katsuta made history

Two common idioms - 'you wait ages for one bus and then two come along at once' and 'it’s never over until it’s over' - are the best way to sum up the World Rally Championship's visit to Croatia.

There must have been something in the sporting air last weekend. Across the pond in America Rory McIlroy successfully defended his Masters golf crown 12 month on from waiting 17 years to finally wear a green jacket. Likewise in the WRC, Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta scored a long-awaited maiden win on his 94th WRC start in Safari Rally Kenya last month, only to pick up a second win at the very next event in Croatia.

The stunned expression on the Japanese driver’s face and the muted celebrations that followed at the finish, of what will be regarded as the most attritional asphalt rally in decades, said it all. Nobody, including Katsuta, was expecting him to be standing on the top step of the podium given the fact Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville held a lead of more than a minute heading into the final stage. But as is often the case in sport, it’s never over, and perhaps the only thing you can guarantee in this year's crazy start to the WRC season is drama by the bucket load.

The service park was convinced. Surely this was to be Hyundai’s day after being on the end of heavy defeats to Toyota in Monte Carlo, Sweden and Kenya. Instead, joy turned into despair in a heartbeat as Neuville made an error on the final stage that resulted in terminal damage to front right of his car. The devastation was palpable. 

The fact Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston didn’t feel they could celebrate was telling. In fact the Japanese driver’s first thoughts were of sympathy for his rivals Neuville and co-driver Martijn Wydaeghe, and the hard-working Hyundai team. “People were saying that when you win, the next one comes quick, but I was not believing it,” said Katsuta. “But I’m a bit surprised how it happened this weekend. Obviously, I am very sorry for Thierry, Martijn and the Hyundai guys, that is the most important feeling in myself now. I have had similar moments, so that is why I feel pain for him [Thierry]. Of course I need to be happy for my team and everybody and [co-driver] Aaron [Johnston]. I think we did a clever job this weekend.”

The pain was indeed clear on the face of Neuville, his co-driver Wydaeghe and every member of the Hyundai team. This was a victory desperately needed to boost morale and motivation. All the 2024 world champion could do was apologise. It’s an error that will likely haunt Neuville, a wound that will take time to heal.

The celebrations were muted for Katsuta's second WRC win after Neuville's final stage demise

Photo by: Toyota Racing

“I can only say sorry to everyone involved. That’s the only thing I can say,” said an emotional Neuville. “First of all, I would like to express my apologies to the whole team – everybody who works with me throughout the whole year. It’s a huge disappointment for Martijn and myself, we didn’t expect that but unfortunately the rally can strike even at the very last stage.

“We were driving according to plan, and our target was just to get through the stage, but unfortunately, we were surprised on that corner. I probably turned in a bit too early, and my first reaction was to open, and then the incident happened. It’s going to be a tough period for us but we have no choice but to come back stronger and keep fighting. We won’t give up and our time will come again.”

A win is a win, no matter how they arrive, and for Katsuta it brought with it yet more history. The triumph elevated the Toyota driver to the top of the standings - a feat never achieved before by a Japanese driver - arriving 10 years after his WRC debut.

There was an element of a voyage into the unknown before the event had even started given only three stages had been retained from the route the WRC used in its last visit in 2024

“I don’t know, I never thought about it [what it means to be the first Japanese driver to lead the WRC standings],” said Katsuta, who now leads Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans by seven points. “Now I don’t need to think about it too much and just try to do my job and focus on my own things. Obviously, the car is working well and I trust the car and the team to try and become a better driver. I didn’t expect it of course but basically this weekend was crazy until the end, so many things happened and punctures and everything. It was a really crazy weekend.” 

Katsuta was spot on with his description of the weekend, it was indeed crazy and quite possibly one of the most challenging asphalt events in recent history. Only three Rally1 crews completed the full distance. Yohan Rossel’s run to fourth overall - and a breakthrough first WRC2 win for the returning Lancia - was the first time since Germany 2013 that a WRC2 car has finished inside the top five at a pure asphalt rally.

While the sight of Neuville’s final stage slip will be the headline moment, Croatia’s asphalt roads created plenty of stories leading up to that dramatic crescendo. 

There was an element of a voyage into the unknown before the event had even started given only three stages had been retained from the route the WRC used in its last visit in 2024. A brand-new base location at the Automotodrom Grobnik, near Rijeka - a former host of the motorcycle Yugoslav Grand Prix- introduced crews to all-new stages, featuring the typical multiple surface grip changes and plenty of cutting. 

Solberg put in a damage limitation drive after his opening stage off

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Solberg’s excellent salvage job

The rally had barely begun before the first surprising moment. Toyota’s Oliver Solberg had topped the shakedown and was widely expected to be a contender for victory. And from his speed on Saturday and Sunday, in an alternate reality Solberg would have probably dominated the rally. However, victory hopes were extinguished 4.8km into the first test when he went off and beached his GR Yaris after clipping a rock face, which fired the car into a wild 360-degree spin. A tearful Solberg felt that a decision to take hard tyres, that he had limited experience driving on in his GR Yaris, contributed to the error. “I live and breathe this every day, it is all I know in life. When it doesn’t go to plan it is tough,” said Solberg, fighting back the tears. 

The Monte Carlo winner wasn’t the only driver to hit trouble but the pace he produced when he rejoined the rally on Saturday nobody could live with. Solberg produced the ultimate salvage job, winning 10 stages while claiming the maximum 10 Super Sunday points. The resolve to fight back to claim those points could prove to be incredibly valuable come the end of the season.   

“From Saturday onwards it has been fantastic. The car, the feeling and everything has been really good,” Solberg added. “If we had a puncture or something break then you could say what could have been. In my situation it is case of learning from it, know that you have the speed and the performance and move forward and be positive.” 

Evans’ rare error that could prove costly 

The surprise of seeing Solberg sidelined early on was quickly eclipsed by the magnitude of Evans firing off the road in stage three.

The championship leader won the opening two stages and had become the favourite for the win with a 15.8s lead. That was wiped out in an unusual fashion as a misjudgement over a pacenote appeared to contribute to Evans carrying far too much speed into a tight right hander. It meant that after finishing 19 consecutive WRC rallies inside the top six, the Welshman was faced with back-to-back retirements after exiting Safari Rally Kenya last month.   

Evans did rejoin the rally on Saturday but couldn’t match Solberg in the fight for the maximum Super Sunday points leaving the event, taking eight points to Solberg's 10. “It is something. The target was 10 points and when you come away with less than expected you are never going to be happy. It is better than nothing. The start of the year has been crazy with so many things going on. It is part of the game. It was clear that the road order played a huge part and I’m a bit gutted we couldn’t make sure of that as it was a huge advantage to start first."

A puncture in stage 14 ended Pajari's maiden WRC victory hopes

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Pajari proves point but extreme ‘gravel rally' conditions end victory bid 

Evans’ demise handed the lead to Toyota’s Sami Pajari who has been somewhat of a revelation in recent events. Aside from a mistake in Monte Carlo, the 24-year-old has clearly taken a step forward and is now considered a regular podium contender.

After assuming the rally lead Pajari, searching for a maiden WRC win, showed an impressive level of maturity, speed and confidence to control the rally. A three-way fight for the lead ensued with Hyundai’s Neuville and Katsuta involved. Pajari took an overnight lead into a WRC event for the first time in his career and the Toyota driver seemed the favourite to break his duck having built a 13.7s advantage.

But again there was another twist. The lack of anti-cut devices that contributed to excessive corner cutting by the crews had transformed many of Saturday’s stages into tests more akin to gravel rallies, such as Finland and Greece. Sharp rocks strewn across the road surface effectively turned the rally into a lottery when it came to avoiding punctures. 

"The cutting was so extreme on some of the stages. I think it was clear that the rally was missing quite a few anti-cuts for the fairness of the sport" Elfyn Evans

In stage 14 - the second pass through the 22.48km Generalski Stol - Zdihovo - the effect of the cutting epidemic was clear. It turned the rally on its head as Pajari, Katsuta, Hayden Paddon and the M-Sport duo of Jon Armstrong and Josh McErlean all picked up punctures. The drivers did not pin the blame on Hankook given the highly unusual conditions for an asphalt rally.  

Rally leader Pajari was the worst hit, having to stop and change wheel at the cost if more than two minutes, handing Neuville a lead of more than a minute over Katsuta. Demoted to third, Pajari knew that the victory bid was over.

“It was a bit disappointing of course, but a few rallies ago I was really happy to be in third position,” he reflected, as he ultimately inherited second after Neuville’s final stage crash. “We had some promising rallies last year like in Saudi and Kenya, but this was on another level. We have been leading the rally for more than half the length of it, so of course it is an even bigger disappointment this way. Of course [I can feel proud] but it doesn’t change the feeling that we didn’t win this time and we lost.”

Pajari can indeed feel proud. The Finn has flipped the narrative having faced difficult questions over his performance last year after Solberg won on his Toyota debut in Estonia. A first victory is surely just around the corner for the WRC’s new flying Finn.

Drivers called for more anti-cut devices to control the number of punctures

Photo by: Hyundai Motorsport

However, if these stages are to be used again next year, drivers were unanimous that a more through use of anti-cut devices must be implemented. “For me, the rally had bit more character and somehow better than the old location. The stages were more tricky. The cutting was so extreme on some of the stages. I think it was clear that the rally was missing quite a few anti-cuts for the fairness of the sport," said Evans, who avoided a puncture in stage 14. Solberg concurred: “One hundred percent [anti-cuts would have helped]. On a rally like this I think it is a bit too extreme and it gets dangerous [like being on] slick tyres on full gravel.” 

The small joy amid Hyundai’s despair 

Croatia will be a rally Hyundai will want to forget, with Neuville snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, while a puncture on the final stage for Adrien Fourmaux only added to the pain in what proved to be an eventful rally for the Frenchman. 

Fourmaux lost a minute-and-a-half to a puncture in stage two before then clattering a telegraph pole in stage 12 on Saturday that forced an early retirement. What followed was a surreal invite for lunch at family residence nearby that went viral on social media.

Neuville’s unceremonious exit did however promote Hyundai’s third car driven by Paddon and the 67-year-old co-driver John Kennard to third. Paddon drove smartly in his role as back up to Neuville and Fourmaux which was rewarded with a first podium since Rally Australia 2018.

“It is a bittersweet podium. Firstly I’m gutted for the team and Thierry as well, as I know how much effort is going on behind the scenes and they really deserve the victory,” said Paddon. “It is a surprise to be on the podium and it was never the expectation. I stuck to the plan all weekend and it turned out to be one of those events where you had to survive, even though at the start I said it wouldn’t be a rally of attrition, so I couldn’t have been more wrong on that. It is hard to comprehend that we are on a WRC podium again eight years later. It has been some journey.”

M-Sport’s Armstrong is the real deal

When it comes to who impressed the most in Croatia, M-Sport-Ford’s Armstrong built a strong case to top that poll. Making his Rally1 debut this year, last year’s European Rally Championship runner-up has turned heads and continued to do so in Croatia.

Armstrong impressed again in Croatia

Photo by: M-Sport

Armstrong was able to mix it with championship’s elite, claiming 10 top-three stage times, and came within 0.1s of taking a first WRC career stage win in SS3, only to be denied by Neuville. A mistake in stage four led to an impact with bank that triggered an early retirement on Friday was the only blemish. Rejoining the rally on Saturday, Armstrong and co-driver Shane Byrne ended Sunday with six deserved points. 

“It’s fantastic to see the pace John and Shane have shown throughout the entire weekend,” said M-Sport boss Richard Millener. “To watch them fighting at the top of the stage time sheets against far more experienced Rally1 crews and to come away with third overall in the Power Stage and Super Sunday points, is an outstanding achievement.”

While Armstrong thrived, misfortune continued to follow team-mate McErlean, whose search for a clean rally continues. The Irishman was delayed by punctures and lost seven minutes when a fire broke out in the cockpit of his Ford Puma. An alternator issue then meant he had to bump start his car to keep going through Saturday before a clean Sunday run.

McErlean will be hoping for better luck next time out in the Canary Islands

Photo by: M-Sport