Motorsport TechnologyTakamoto Katsuta yet again benefitted from the late misfortune of other drivers to win a dramatic Rally Croatia and take the lead of the World Rally Championship.
As was the case in Rally Kenya, the Japanese driver was a measure of consistency in focusing on his own race whilst misfortune befell others.
It looked almost certain that Thierry Neuville would come out on top, the Hyundai driver carrying a big lead of over a minute into the final stage.
But his hopes were dashed when he hit a concrete block, damaging his front right suspension with victory in sight.
Late, late drama 🤯
Thierry Neuville crashed out of the lead on the Wolf Power Stage in dramatic fashion, handing victory to Takamoto Katsuta & Aaron Johnston!#WRC | #CroatiaRally đź‡đź‡· pic.twitter.com/2283l0P6tx
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) April 12, 2026
It meant that Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston claimed another surprise win with Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Sami Pajari elevated to second place, 20.7 seconds behind.
“It’s crazy,” Katsuta is quoted on wrc.com. “I never really think about it. Even now, I don’t need to think about it too much. I just try to do my job and focus on my own things.
“Obviously the car is working well, so I trust the car and the team, and I just try to improve myself more and become a better driver. That’s the only thing I’m doing now.
What a rally 🤩#WRC | #CroatiaRally đź‡đź‡· pic.twitter.com/Z6P8cgOSzK
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) April 13, 2026
“Of course, I didn’t expect it. Basically, this weekend was crazy right until the end. So many things happened – punctures and everything.
“Even today, we didn’t expect that much pollution and those kinds of conditions, but still this happened. So yeah, it was a really crazy weekend.”
For Neuville, it was obviously a bitter pill to swallow but the Belgian was magnanimous enough to hold his hands up and take full responsibility.
“I can only say sorry to everyone involved,” Neuville is quoted on motorsport.com. “That’s the only thing I can say. All the rest we will see later. I have no explanation at the moment. This cannot happen. We will see what exactly went wrong.
“I got understeer and immediately opened the wheel and was afraid to slide and we touched something with the wheel and more damage occurred after.”
Despite taking the overall lead of the championship, Katsuta is certainly not counting his chickens with so many races remaining and so many great drivers still likely to come back stronger.
Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston take the championship lead after Round 4 of the 2026 World Rally Championship season! đź‘Ź#WRC | #CroatiaRally đź‡đź‡· pic.twitter.com/blKWpLDAPK
— FIA World Rally Championship (@OfficialWRC) April 12, 2026
“I just try to focus on my own job,” added the Japanese. “I need to be consistent and try my best, that’s for sure. But it’s going to be quite tricky towards the end of the season.
“Elfyn [Evans] and Oliver [Solberg] are very, very strong anyway, and Seb [Ogier] will come back, so it won’t be easy competition. I just try my best and focus on my own things.”
The World Rally Championship resumes with the Rally of Spain from 23-26 April.
