Mixed Monte Carlo fortunes for Johnston and Katsuta

THE World Rally Championship season opening Rallye Monte Carlo will be remembered by most for Sebastien Loeb’s victory on his return to the sport as he edged out fellow Frenchman Sebastien Ogier.

But for Fintona’s Aaron Johnston it will be remembered as a weekend of what might have been as he and driver, Takamoto Katsuta delivered some scintillating stage times only for one minor error to be brutally punished by the unforgiving conditions.

Snow and ice gave the iconic Monte stages added bite at the weekend and, having battled their way up to fifth overall, Johnston and Katsuta’s Toyota Gazoo Racing Team Next Generation Rally1 Yaris ended up beached in a ditch on Stage 13 on Saturday.

That cost them 13 minutes as they rallied to find spectators to help them drag their car out and back onto the stage, all but ending their event in the process.

“We weren’t the only ones to get caught out in the conditions but I think we were the only ones who made the smallest mistake but were penalised the heaviest,” Johnston observed.

“We were 10 miles per hour too fast into the tight left hand corner and unfortunately we slid wide on the ice and got beached on the outside in the ditch. The car was resting on the actual floor with the wheels off the ground with no traction so we needed the help of the spectators to get back out again.

“Unfortunately, the place that we were at, there were only four or five guys there at the start so we had to get people rounded up from the corner before and the corner after so it took a lot of time and unfortunately that was the rally over for us.”

Having dropped from fifth to 13th because of that one incident, the 26-year-old Tyrone co-driver and Katsuta rallied, literally, and clawed back chunks of time during the remaining stages to finish eighth overall.

“We have to be happy to fight back from 13th to 8th in four stages and get points on the board for the manufacturer and ourselves,” Johnston added. “It could have been an awful lot better but all things considered it was a very strong weekend for us.”

Monte Carlo proved a thrilling starting point for a new era in the WRC with the two legendary Sebs, nine time champion Loeb and eight time winner Ogier going toe-to-toe, while the next generation of talent showed their skills too, much to Johnston’s delight.

“The two world champions for the last 15 or 16 years, so to be mixing it with these guys on the stages it’s nice and as we’ve said before it’s a more equal and level playing field which I think showed this weekend,” he said.

“OK, the result at the finish probably isn’t a surprise but the times from ourselves and Gus [Greensmith] and Adrien [Formaux], all the young guys were mixing it at the front, which is nice to see.

“And now the two Sebs [Ogier and Loeb] are only doing part campaigns, it could be very interesting for the remainder of the season.”

And with one event under his belt, Johnston feels he has learned a lot about the new hybrid cars, but he knows as the season develops, so too will his knowledge.

“There’s a hell of a lot to learn about these new cars,” he admitted. “They were complex before and when you add in the hybrid element to them now they are extremely technical but after doing one full event and probably one of the longest events of the season and to come out of it with no technical issues and no drama for all four cars, it was pretty incredible to be honest.

“The team has done a fantastic job over the last year to 18 months developing the car and that showed last weekend, so obviously every stage you do and every kilometre you do will stand to you in the future.

“We completed all the stages and did all the mileage and all the work with the new hybrid regulations and from my point of view it was a strong weekend of learning and keeping in control of the new elements of the sport.”