Takamoto Katsuta suffered a disastrous start to Rally Chile, crashing out on the opening stage, SS1 Turquia. Less than four miles into the rally, the Toyota driver ran wide and hit a bank, pulling the front of his car in and leaving him stuck.
This is a major setback for Katsuta, who led the World Rally Championship in April after back-to-back victories in Kenya and Croatia. However, his form has dipped recently. At Rally del Paraguay two weeks ago, he crashed on both Friday and Sunday, with the latter accident forcing a co-driver change for Chile as Aaron Johnston recovers from a fractured collarbone.
With new co-driver James Fulton, Katsuta showed pace by setting the fastest time in Thursday's shakedown. But disaster struck on the first stage. He went off at a slippery corner, damaging the front of his car and ending his day prematurely.
Meanwhile, his Toyota teammate Oliver Solberg took advantage to lead the rally by 1.4 seconds over Elfyn Evans. Solberg, known for his aggressive style, put in a solid performance on the tricky stage. Adrien Fourmaux was third fastest and commented on Katsuta's incident: “I saw Taka off, it was a very slippery corner — globally, it’s a tricky stage.”
With this result, Katsuta's hopes of scoring big points in Chile are dashed. He will look to bounce back in the next round, but losing a full day is a significant blow. Meanwhile, Solberg and Evans will battle for the lead.
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