Takamoto Katsuta’s South American woes continue in Rally Chile
11th September 2026Toyota’s Takamoto Katsuta has endured another troubling opening day in the second consecutive World Rally Championship event, in Rally Chile, after getting stuck on stage one.
Feature image credit: Jaanus Ree // Red Bull Content Pool
Rally Chile BioBio has officially got underway and it has already claimed the first victim of the weekend; Katsuta. It compounds a miserable time in South America for the Japanese driver, marking the third incident in two events.
Conditions on the opening stage of the weekend were challenging, thanks to overnight rain, and the opening course – Turquía 1 – was a staggering 22.9km test. However, Katsuta only managed to complete 6.2km before coming to a stop.
Approaching a faster left-hander, Katsuta ran wide and clipped the edge of the road. The incident dragged the Japanese driver’s Yaris off the road and into the road-lined fence. Having rode the dirt, hitting the fence along the way, his Rally1 Yaris was beached downhill and Katsuta was unable to get the car back onto the stage.
Thankfully, he and his stand-in co-driver, James Fulton, were okay and unharmed in the incident.
It is the second consecutive event where Katsuta has endured an incident on the opening test.
Last time out, in Paraguay, Katsuta suffered a roll on the opening test. He and his regular co-driver, Aaron Johnstone, were okay and soon rejoined the event as per the restart procedure, going on until Sunday without incident.
However, in the penultimate stage, on the final day of the Paraguayan event, Katsuta had another roll, colliding with a power pole, leaving his car in the middle of the road. It was the incident which prompted Johnstone’s injury, a broken collarbone, resulting in Fulton’s stand-in appearance.
After the first test, Toyota’s Oliver Solberg stood as the rally leader, having claimed the stage win for the opening test. The Swede sits 1.4 seconds ahead of his teammate, and championship rival, Elfyn Evans.
Read more WRC here:
- Rally Chile BioBio: Full WRC stage times and guide
- Katsuta crashes out at Rally Paraguay cancelling penultimate stage
- Rally del Paraguay: Full WRC stage times and guide
- FIA conclude Rally Scotland WRC candidate event
- 2026 Czech Rally: Full ERC stage guide and times
- Rally Paraguay: full WRC Rally1 entry list
- FIA give September deadline for WRC Saudi Arabia finale
- Sebastien Ogier confirms attendance in remaining WRC rallies
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
