He will probably be referred to as into motion to attain producer factors for Toyota no sooner than mid-February subsequent 12 months – Sébastien Ogier will tackle the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally in Toyota’s fifth part-time entry and rating factors moderately than Katsuta or Sami Pajari.
No resolution has been made on which rounds Katsuta or the newly promoted Pajari will probably be chosen to attain producers’ factors when Ogier is absent. However Katsuta has already realized one lesson from the 12 months simply accomplished: he should cease attempting to laborious to show his value. That impulse is what put his WRC dream in such a precarious place to start with.
“Everybody within the staff is giving me the precise, straight info of what I ought to do, It’s much more now clear than earlier than,” stated Katsuta. “Previously after they informed me one thing, I used to be speeding myself an excessive amount of: no, I must win, I must win, as a result of in any other case the staff doesn’t want Taka anymore, so I want to point out what I can do, in any other case I’ve no future.
“Once I had troublesome conditions this 12 months, for instance in Chile, I spoke loads with staff guys like Tom [Fowler, technical director] and I understood that this was not the case at first of the 12 months. I used to be speeding, however they weren’t anticipating that, they weren’t hoping that this [leading pace] occurred. They had been extra like even third, fourth, fifth is greater than sufficient. However I used to be all the time pondering that I want extra, extra, extra. Then ultimately I made a mistake and created a tougher state of affairs myself, in order that was my largest mistake.
“However now I’ve extra concepts, I will be calmer and make a plan extra progressively. So I feel I’m mentally extra steady already earlier than the rally to set a very good goal, so I’m fairly certain that subsequent 12 months will probably be a extremely good season.”
