Sebastien Ogier, Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans support and comprehend their teammate Takamoto Katsuta on his decision to step back for one rally in order to reset and have a fresh start for the remainder of the season.
Katsuta decided to skip Rally Chile after his mistake in Greece earlier this month which costed him a good result as he was fighting for the top positions on Friday. However, it was not only Acropolis Rally where he had a good pace with his Yaris and was fighting for the lead, but also in Sweden, Sardinia, Portugal and Finland. He made some mistakes on these five rallies which made him to have five restarts under the SuperRally regulations while his best result of the season was the second place at Safari Rally Kenya last March. It is expected that Katsuta will return back to the wheel of the GR Yaris Rally1 at Central European Rally, as his name is included to the entry list, and will have Sebastien Ogier, Sami Pajari and Elfyn Evans as his teammates on the penultimate round of the championship. Last but not least, Katsuta hopes to get a good result on his home event which will host the final WRC round of 2024 and will be held in two months.
"I told him that in this moment, of course, it’s hard to take", Ogier said.
"I think he’s not having the best time at the moment but he has to try to use that as a reset to come back on the next one.
"We all make mistakes.
"I also had been honest with him that on this rally, this one in Greece was… It was hard to forgive.
"You were in a position where you had good tires, you were in a good starting position.
"This one was one too many, so maybe sometimes a punch in the face helps us to restart.
"I think nobody wants to put him down.
"That’s quite the opposite.
"We want him to really, let’s say, use the potential he had, and he has proved since now quite a while in terms of speed.
"So I think as a team now everybody will try to support him.
"I think you shouldn’t see it only as a punishment that he’s not here.
"I think there is really a wish for us as a team to help him to turn the thing around.
"There’s many drivers who’ve been in these situations.
"Think about Ott, all the setbacks he had at some points, and then still became world champion.
"Of course it’s tough, and mentally it will be a difficult one, but it’s in this situation that you get better.
"The first message I sent to Taka was: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so you have to look forward".
Moreover, Kalle Rovanpera said: "I talked with Taka many times after the decision and I think this is going to be a good chance for him to reset a bit.
"And I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.
"For sure he can learn a bit more about himself and what he has been doing in the past.
"If he can learn from those things, for sure he can make it as a positive thing, he can be stronger after.
"I think he just needs to really reset, have time off, not keep working all the time more and more, because at some point it’s too much.
"You need to always relax.
"Rally is a mental game.
"He knows how to drive fast, so he also needs to know how to relax.
"I think that’s the biggest thing I told him.
"Take a few beers and enjoy life for one weekend without rally".
Finally, Elfyn Evans stated: "Of course Taka will bounce back.
"He’s shown a lot of potential this year.
"He has the full support of everybody behind him and yeah I’m sure good times will come for him".
Source: DirtFish.com
Photo Credits: Toyota
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