Takamoto Katsuta overcame lost pace notes and two punctures to claim an emotional breakthrough victory for Toyota at Safari Rally Kenya.
Katsuta completes a remarkable Safari recovery
Takamoto Katsuta claimed his maiden World Rally Championship victory at the 2026 Safari Rally Kenya, completing a dramatic comeback in a Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 with co-driver Aaron Johnston.
The Japanese driver finished 27.4 seconds clear of Hyundai’s Adrien Fourmaux after four punishing days around Naivasha. It ended Katsuta’s long wait for a WRC victory following four previous runner-up finishes. He also became the first Japanese driver to win a championship round since Kenjiro Shinozuka triumphed at Rallye Côte d’Ivoire in 1992.
The landmark result came on Katsuta’s 94th WRC start, 10 years after his first. Persistence shaped the victory. Technical trouble, punctures and severe conditions repeatedly disrupted his rally before the contest swung decisively in his favour.
“I don't know what to say. We had so many difficult moments. Aaron worked very hard with me and the team always believed in me, even when I failed.”
Early setbacks push Toyota crew down order
Katsuta’s challenge suffered immediately on Thursday’s opening stage. An intercom failure left him without Johnston’s pace notes, costing the Toyota crew more than a minute on a test made especially difficult by heavy rain and muddy sections.
He stayed in contention, but had to fight from behind as others set the early pace. Oliver Solberg went quickest on the opening stage by 30 seconds over Elfyn Evans, while Sébastien Ogier sat more than a minute further back.
Katsuta recovered to fourth before another major setback struck on stage seven. A double front puncture forced him to slow because he had no spare-wheel protection left. He completed Friday in seventh place, 1 minute 53.3 seconds behind the leader.
That deficit would have ended his victory hopes on most rallies. The Safari was different. Rough roads and a high attrition rate kept the contest open, so Katsuta focused on keeping the GR Yaris Rally1 moving and preserving the car where possible. He also needed to stay close enough to capitalize if the leaders hit trouble.
Safari chaos transforms the fight
Toyota drivers Solberg, Evans and Ogier had led the fight heading into Saturday. Then the demanding conditions reordered the rally. Evans retired, while Solberg and Ogier later retired on a road section, handing Katsuta the lead before the final day.
Taking over first place did not reduce the quality of Katsuta’s drive. He had survived the missing pace notes and double puncture, then recovered far enough for his rivals’ problems to count. On an event defined by endurance, keeping a Rally1 car in contention was central to the task.
Katsuta and Johnston converted their chance. They recorded a final winning time of 3 hours 16 minutes 5.6 seconds, with Fourmaux 27.4 seconds behind. A measured closing phase completed a smart performance on an event described as one of the most brutal editions of the modern Safari.
The victory extended Toyota’s unbeaten Safari Rally record since the Kenyan event returned to the WRC calendar in 2021. Multiple Toyota crews led at different stages, but Katsuta delivered the manufacturer’s latest success.
Fourmaux takes second as survival pays
Fourmaux’s runner-up result for Hyundai reflected the requirement that defined the rally, staying in contention while the conditions punished the leading crews. He finished within half a minute of Katsuta, but could not erase the Toyota driver’s advantage on the final run.
The confirmed margin showed Katsuta still needed a controlled finish once he moved into first place. Punctures, mechanical issues and road conditions can produce major time losses on the Safari, which meant a 27.4-second cushion guaranteed nothing before the final stage was complete.
Johnston played a critical role. Thursday’s intercom failure had denied Katsuta his pace notes, but the crew rebuilt its rally and maintained the partnership needed to negotiate the remaining stages. The result was a first WRC victory for both driver and co-driver.
A breakthrough with historic significance
Katsuta’s victory carried significance beyond the 2026 season. Four second-place finishes had brought him close before, while his 2025 Safari ended with a roll on the final Hell’s Gate stage. One year later, he returned and secured the breakthrough that had repeatedly eluded him.
The result continued a varied start to the championship. Solberg won Rallye Monte-Carlo in January, Evans claimed Rally Sweden in February and Katsuta became the third different winner from three rounds in Kenya.
No championship totals were supplied in the official research notes, so the precise effect on the standings cannot be quantified here. A first victory still gave Katsuta a major early-season result and showed he could turn a demanding, unpredictable rally into a maximum overall outcome.
Toyota paired another Safari success with a new WRC winner. Katsuta converted years of near misses into victory in Kenya after dropping to seventh, nearly two minutes behind, and refusing to let the rally’s setbacks end his challenge.
