– Takamoto Katsuta has praised the efforts of his rivals Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe, which he will “never forget” after the “heaviest” accident of his career in the World Rally Championship (WRC) at the Rally Paraguay.
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The Toyota driver and his co-driver Aaron Johnston were involved in a severe crash over the weekend, which led the race management to cancel the 21st special stage of the gravel rally.
Katsuta’s Toyota Yaris went up on two wheels during a fast left-right combination before rolling over. The vehicle then knocked down a telegraph pole and finally came to rest on its side.
Katsuta was initially trapped
While Toyota confirmed that both driver and co-driver are fine, Katsuta revealed that he initially could not free himself from the wreck. After finally leaving the car, Katsuta and Johnston were taken to the hospital for precautionary examinations.
“It was really a heavy accident, the heaviest of my career, I would say. The impact itself was one of the strongest I have ever experienced,” said Katsuta, who had already rolled his Yaris on the first special stage of the rally.
“I couldn’t get out of the car, it hurt so much. But at least we are here now. A big thank you to these regulations, because all the safety, protection, and all these things do their job. At the same time, it was very well organized to get us to the hospital quickly enough.”
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“Also, I have to thank Thierry and Martijn after our incident [who were the first to arrive at the accident site]. They arrived right after our incident at the spot and took care of us tenderly until the rescue team arrived.”
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“I couldn’t walk or stand as usual, so it was pretty scary. But they helped us enormously at that moment, which is the most important thing for this sport. I really appreciate both of you. I will never forget this, and we will continue to push each other at the rallies.”
The two-time WRC event winner will now focus on preparing for the Rally Chile next week, after falling back to fourth place in the overall standings.
Next stop: Chile
“We will try to recover as best as possible for Chile. From my side, I am really sorry for the team this weekend,” says Katsuta.
“We will come back stronger and give our best at the next three rallies. And many thanks to all the fans in Paraguay and South America for your support and encouragement. Even though the result was not what we hoped for, it was a really great rally that we got to experience with all of you.”
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