Katsuta wins Croatia

Takamoto Katsuta won Rally Croatia on Sunday after Thierry Neuville crashed out of a lead of more than one minute on the final Wolf Power Stage. (wrc.com) Katsuta and co-driver Aaron Johnston finished first for Toyota, with Sami Pajari promoted to second at 20.7 seconds and Hayden Paddon taking third on his first Croatia start since the event returned to the World Rally Championship calendar. (wrc.com) Neuville began Sunday with a 1 minute 14.5 second advantage and still led heading into the last test, but he hit a concrete block, damaged the front-right suspension on his Hyundai i20 N Rally1 and stopped just kilometres from the finish. (wrc.com) The result gave Katsuta his second straight World Rally Championship win after Safari Rally Kenya and moved him to 84 points in the drivers’ standings, five ahead of Toyota team-mate Elfyn Evans. Oliver Solberg is third on 68. (wrc.com) Croatia was round four of the 2026 season and the rally’s return after a one-year absence from the championship. Toyota left with 206 manufacturers’ points to Hyundai’s 141. (wrc.com) Pajari’s second place was his third consecutive podium, but it followed the puncture on stage 14 at Generalski Stol–Zdihovo that cost him more than two minutes and the overall lead on Saturday. (wrc.com) In the second-tier World Rally Championship 2 class, Yohan Rossel delivered Lancia’s first category win with the Ypsilon High-Fidelity Rally2 car. Autosport reported it as Lancia’s first World Rally Championship 2 victory. (autosport.com) Katsuta’s Croatia win also made him the first Japanese driver to lead the World Rally Championship standings, according to Reuters’ race report carried by Channel NewsAsia. (channelnewsasia.com) What looked like Neuville’s first win of 2026 instead became Katsuta’s second in a row, and the championship now leaves Croatia with Toyota holding both the rally trophy and the points lead. (wrc.com)