How Katsuta realised a WRC dream in the most brutal modern Safari Rally

“It [a first win] is definitely getting closer, so he has done good steps and you never know it can happen in Kenya, and if everything goes well, he can win the rally."

Those were the now prophetic words of Toyota World Rally Championship team principal Jari-Matti Latvala after a frustrated Takamoto Katsuta left Sweden having just missed out on a first WRC win at Rally Sweden for the second year in succession. 

Fast forward to Safari Rally Kenya and there are beaming smiles from Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston standing on the top step of the podium. 

What a difference a year makes. Katsuta broke down in tears and was inconsolable after rolling his Toyota on the final stage of Safari Rally Kenya last year. Twelve months on at the same Hell’s Gate stage there were tears of joy after finally achieving his dream - to win a WRC event. 

“I just remember that last year I was crying. I was pushing the car and I was crying, and this time I was crying again, but for a different reason. This was something special. I was thinking I should try not to cry as you are showing yourself to the world and it is quite embarrassing, but it was not possible to keep the tears inside my body,” said Katsuta as he reflected on an emotional breakthrough victory on his 94th WRC start, 10 years on from his first. 

It is fair to say that there were few dry eyes within the WRC community as Katsuta spoke to the stage end reporter Molly Petit, who greeted him at the rally finish. That’s because this talented Japanese driver wears his heart on his sleeve and is a true grafter, always determined to be better and overcome setbacks. It’s these attributes that has won over legions of fans both outside and within the service park, resulting in a collective will for Katsuta to achieve.

In typical Katsuta fashion, during what will now become an infamous tearful stage end interview, he was quick to pay tribute to support received from his co-driver, his Toyota team, family, Toyota WRC chairman Akio Toyoda, and new mentor 2019 world champion Ott Tanak.

Katsuta finally became a rally winner in Kenya over the weekend

“I don’t know what to say. We have had so many difficult times, Aaron has worked very hard with me and the team was always believing in me, even when I was failing all the time. Thanks to the whole team, finally we are here because of them and Aaron,” said Katsuta.

“My family is always a big support for me, this means so much. So many things happened but we are here. Thank you also to Ott who has been contacting me and helping me, even waking up earlier than me every morning. Akio-san, finally we are here so thank you!”

The rollercoaster journey from Formula 3 to WRC winner

Katsuta’s journey to this moment of euphoria has been far from straightforward. Becoming the first Japanese driver to win a WRC round since Kenjiro Shinozuka won Rallye Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in 1992 has arrived after years of dedication and determination to succeed. It's a journey that witnessed Katsuta turn his back on circuit racing having competed in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship (2012-14) to being picked up by the Toyota WRC driver development programme in 2015, and moving to Europe to become a rally driver. 

“When I decided to come and do rallying, for sure I knew I needed to make new history" Takamoto Katsuta

Since 2015 he has been striving to become a top level rally driver capable of standing on the top step of the WRC podium one day. After progressing to Toyota’s factory team in 2020, Katsuta had proved his speed and prior to this weekend had been knocking on the door, finishing second on five occasions - the most recent being last month’s Rally Sweden. 

But there had also been morale-damaging lows. Inconsistency and a run of accidents put his position in the team at risk, with Toyota benching Katsuta for Rally Chile in 2024. He has often proved to be his own harshest critic. However, Katsuta has always found a way to recover from the setbacks that on some occasions left him in tears, and now in Kenya - the venue of his first WRC podium in 2021 - he achieved his target.

“When I decided to come and do rallying, for sure I knew I needed to make new history," he said. "I had pressure to do everything as I had such a big programme and huge pressure from everywhere, and Akio-san has been supporting me lots, so I have to deliver the result. It was good pressure but as you know it is not easy at the world level and every single moment I was trying to get better and better, and finally we did it."

Just like his career to date, Kenya was full of highs and lows. The statistics will show that Katsuta ended the rally without setting a fastest stage time and the last time that happened was back at Rally Portugal 2012 when Mads Ostberg was victorious. 

How Katsuta survived and thrived in brutal Safari 

But this year’s rally was more about finding the correct pace to survive the brutal gravel stages. World champion Thierry Neuville, who’s seen pretty much everything the WRC can conjure in recent years, described it as “very brutal, probably the toughest rally we have ever seen. I don't think they have had it that rough 30 or 40 years back even”. 

It’s some statement, but there was plenty of evidence to back that up. Only five cars from the Rally1 field completed the full distance, as Kenya’s rainy season turned roads into treacherous mud baths, with two-time winner Sebastien Ogier admitting that “a boat would be quicker” in some sections. Organisers were forced to cancel stages 3 and 16 due to deteriorating road conditions rendering them inaccessible for medical vehicles. 

The mud particularly was an issue. It blocked radiators, crept into key components and plastered windscreens, reducing visibility to virtually nothing. As Hyundai and M-Sport Ford found out, overheating was a real issue that had to be combatted. Crews were often seen desperately searching for water to clean the radiators in between stages and to refill windscreen washer bottles. Being resourceful was key. Sourcing water from puddles to keep vehicles alive was a common occurrence. 

This year's Safari Rally was unlike any other

Photo by: Toyota Racing

M-Sport’s Jon Armstrong and Shane Byrne even undertook a 24-minute driveshaft repair stage side to avoid retirement. They eventually made it to the finish in a commendable 15th, while team-mate Josh McErlean retired on Friday and Saturday due to gearbox and engine issues respectively.   

In Kenya it's never over until it's over. A two-minute gap can be wiped out in an instant as anything can happen. Although, for Katsuta he must have felt as though his victory chances had been hit hard after the first stage when an intercom failure left him to tackle the mud bath Camp Moran stage without pace notes in the pouring rain.  

An angry Katsuta thumped the steering wheel before saying “this is stupid” after learning he’d dropped a minute to the early pacesetter and Toyota team-mate Oliver Solberg, who was 30s faster than next best Elfyn Evans.

More setbacks followed as a double front puncture struck in stage seven. Forced to back off to get the car through the remaining three stages, without the luxury of spare wheels, demoted Katsuta to seventh at the end of Friday, 1m53.3s behind.

Another double puncture occurred in stage 12 that drew the ire of crews as rally organisers made amendments to the route to prevent drivers cutting corners, which was communicated via a video to crews on the evening before. Rally leader Solberg and second-placed Evans also suffered double punctures with the former labelling the route change decision as “unacceptable and dangerous”.

Katsuta was equally frustrated: "It's unbelievable. They've changed the road after the recce. How can we make pacenotes from the video? Totally wrong line in the ruts, I have a double puncture now. They have to do that before the rally."

But that anger would soon dissipate. Come Saturday afternoon Katsuta had climbed from seventh to a surprise 1m25.5 rally lead over Neuville. How might you ask? Well, here is how an incredible sequence of events unfolded.

There were many frustrations during the rally

Photo by: Toyota Racing

Solberg had started Saturday with his rally lead standing at one second after a right rear puncture in stage eight. This coupled with a charge from Ogier left the pair separated by the slimmest of margins. 

That lead grew to 23.6s over Evans as Ogier lost two minutes after being forced to stop and change a puncture in Saturday's stage 11. The rally further turned in Katsuta’s favour as his team-mates and Hyundai rivals hit trouble.

Four stage wins from the impressive Sami Pajari on Friday had moved the Finn into fourth heading into Saturday. However, a right rear tyre explosion in stage 12 cost him five minutes, dropping him down the order. The Finn would recover to finish an impressive third, claiming back-to-back podiums for the first time in his WRC career.    

Third then transformed into a surprise lead for Katsuta as both rally leader Solberg and Ogier retired on the road section heading back to the service park with alternator failures

Brutal Safari unearths weakness in bulletproof Toyota

Toyota's Evans was next to fall as a right rear suspension failure in stage 13 caused by an impact with a rock in stage 12 forced the Welshman into a first retirement since Acropolis Rally Greece, 2024. 

Hyundai had been battling overheating issues with mud blocking the radiators on its fleet of i20 N Rally1 cars. Neuville and Adrien Fourmaux had to carefully navigate through the muddy stages that allowed Katsuta to climb to third behind Solberg and Ogier at the end of Saturday morning. 

Third then transformed into a surprise lead for Katsuta as both rally leader Solberg and Ogier retired on the road section heading back to the service park with alternator failures. Solberg also had a problem with the GR Yaris’ clutch. It proved that the seemingly bulletproof GR Yaris does have a weakness.

“We [Toyota] have dominated in recent times but this weekend was not a good one for us so maybe it is a little kick in ass to do better again,” said Ogier, after leaving Kenya with only eight points gained from Super Sunday. 

It was a disappointing weekend for reigning world champion Ogier

Photo by: Toyota Racing

The stars had aligned for Katsuta, and despite Fourmaux applying pressure, he and Johnston avoided a repeat of the final stage drama of last year to seal a famous win by 27.4s. 

For Hyundai it was a much needed first podium of the season. Having stared at a Toyota top five lock out on Friday, Fourmaux’s second place and Esapekka Lappi’s nightwatchman-style run to fourth [+6m07.3s] was a huge result. It was a result that repaid the incredible work of mechanics that carried out miraculous repairs in service, particularly on Saturday when all three Hyundais barely made it back to service.  

“It is a relief. We never gave up. We can be pleased how we managed it and a big thanks to the team, it was a proper team effort. The job the mechanics did on Saturday [when our car was overheating] was just unbelievable,” said Fourmaux.   

Lappi added: “This was the toughest event ever, that I've done. In the past we have done some repairs on the road sections and it felt tough, but this was double that. This mud made it so difficult to drive and to keep the car alive."

But for Katsuta, it is once again proof that in life you should never give up on realising dreams.

“Basically in the last three kilometres I was always looking at my GPS time to make sure I was not losing too much time. I knew it should be ok but you never know until you get the exact time. I was very nervous until the team gave me the information about what had happened. After that I will never forget that moment,” he said.

“It was very tough but luckily Ott was also helping me a lot. He was saying 'this pace is ok and continue like this', and when it was muddy he said 'not to push in this section' on every single stage. So I really appreciate how he supported me.” 

Katsuta celebrates victory

Johnston, who became the first Irish event winner since co-driver Paul Nagle triumphed in Catalunya in 2017, added: “It is superb. It is a bit of a relief as we have been close many times. But to clinch it here in Africa on probably the toughest event we’ve ever done, as the conditions this year were even more extreme than they have in the past, to clinch that first win here is very special."

How the WRC reacted to Katsuta’s triumph 

There will be few victories that will be as well received as this and it will most likely become the feel good story of the 2026 season. Tanak, who had been waking up early while at home in Estonia, to offer advice and support to his close friend, was among those to recognise the achievement. 

“I am really proud of you my friend! I know how much this means to you and how much work is behind it. First one in the books and now eyes forward. Well done Taka-san,” he said on social media.

“Personally, I have been with Taka many, many years for the good moments and the bad moments, for both of us. We have been supporting each other so much and going through those ups and downs" Kalle Rovanpera

Likewise, close friend, former team-mate and two-time world champion Kalle Rovanpera was equally proud.  

“It was super exciting to watch the last day and I was definitely much more nervous myself than probably when I was driving or fighting for wins, that tells you how excited I was and how important it was for me also," said Rovanpera, who swapped WRC for a career in single-seater racing this year in Japan’s Super Formula.

“Personally, I have been with Taka many, many years for the good moments and the bad moments, for both of us. We have been supporting each other so much and going through those ups and downs, it is always really emotional to see him get it [the win]. It is really deserved especially this year and in this year’s conditions where you have a struggle to even get through.

Rovanpera was amongst those to congratulate Katsuta

Photo by: Toyota Racing

"It is fully deserved. It was really well done and I can’t wait to see Taka to go and celebrate this win, I’m really proud of him.”

Even rivals at Hyundai couldn’t hide their joy at seeing Katsuta become a WRC winner.

“It is a great victory for Taka and he has been very patient, but he did it, so well done to him. He really deserves this, he has always been strong here in Kenya," said Neuville, who left Kenya with only four Sunday points after a driveshaft failure forced him out of second position on Saturday afternoon. 

Reflecting on the comments, Katsuta added: “I really appreciate that even rivals in different teams were cheering me and saying congrats to me so I really appreciate all of the people. That is something special.” 

What’s next for Katsuta and Johnston? 

Now that the weight of securing a first WRC win has lifted, the pair could now become a factor in the 2026 title race having moved to third in the standings, 11 points behind Evans and co-driver Scott Martin. 

Is a title tilt in the back of Katsuta’s mind?

“I’m now only thinking about each rally and trying my best to get a good result as much as I can. The championship will come if I do well on every single rally. I’m not thinking about the championship too much," he said.

Croatia is up next in April

Photo by: Toyota Racing