Takamoto Katsuta has praised the actions of his rivals Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe following the “biggest” accident of his World Rally Championship career at Rally Paraguay.
The Toyota driver and co-driver Aaron Johnston were involved in a violent crash, which forced officials to cancel stage 21 of the gravel rally last weekend.
Katsuta's GR Yaris went up onto two wheels while navigating through a fast left and right corner before pitching into a roll. The car then took out a telegraph pole before coming to rest on its side.
While Toyota confirmed that both driver and co-driver were OK, Katsuta has revealed that he was initially unable to remove himself from the wreckage. After eventually exiting the car Katsuta and Johnston were taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
“It was really a big accident, the biggest in my career, I would say. The impact itself was one of the biggest impacts I’ve had," said Katsuta, who also rolled his GR Yaris in the opening stage of the rally.
“I was not able to get out from the car, it was so painful. But at least we are here now, so big thanks to this regulation that all the safety, protection and things that are doing their job. At the same time, they organised well to bring us to the hospital quick enough.
“Also I must say thank you to Thierry and Martijn. They arrived at the location just after our incident and [took care of] us very much until the rescue team arrived.
“I was not able to walk and stay as normal, so it was quite scary, but they helped us a lot at that moment, which is most important for this sport.
“I really appreciate both of you. I never forget about this and we keep pushing each other in the rallies.”
The two-time WRC rally winner will now focus on preparing for Rally Chile next week after dropping to fourth in the championship standings.
“We'll try to recover as much as possible for Chile. I'm really sorry for the team for this weekend on my end,” said Katsuta. “We'll come back stronger and we'll do our best in the next three rallies. And thank you to all the fans in Paraguay and South America for your support and encouragement. Even though the result wasn't what we hoped for, it was a really enjoyable rally to experience with all of you.”
