Takamoto Katsuta believes that he has to be at the limit at Rally Sweden after being one of the Toyota nominated drivers in 2023 and reveals that he feels a little pressure because of this.
The Japanese driver was promoted to one of the nominated drivers of Toyota in 2023 after Esapekka Lappi joined Hyundai Motorsport for this season and Sebastien Ogier secured a partial programme with the team. Kalle Rovanpera and Elfyn Evans will be the main drivers of Toyota as they will take part in all rounds of this year's championship.
Takamoto Katsuta competed with the fourth GR Yaris Rally1 at Rallye Monte Carlo last month, but Toyota did not choose him to score points for the team in this event. He finished in sixth place overall and was chasing Ott Tanak for the fifth place at the end of Stage 17 as their gap was 0,1 seconds before heading to Powerstage. However, the Estonian took advantage of his rival's problems on the final stage of the rally who hit something and damaged the rear left suspension of his car.
"I’m really excited for Rally Sweden", Katsuta said.
"Driving on snow feels very familiar and comfortable for me and I really like these conditions.
"Being one of the team’s three nominated drivers will maybe bring a little bit more pressure than I’m used to but this position is where I have really wanted to be.
"I’m sure there will be challenging moments but I will try to manage them and bring good points for the team.
"I will just do my best and this is no different to before.
"In testing on snow the feeling in the car has been incredibly good; I would say the team has made quite a big step since one year ago and hopefully this gives us more confidence in Sweden.
"Of course, the other teams are also improving and developing so we will need to be ‘full attack’!".
Photo Credits: Toyota
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