Toyota trainee rally driver, Takamoto Katsuta, has been promised his first drive in a World Rally Car at the Finnish national championship Itaralli (1-2 March), a winter event based at Joensuu.
The main programme for the 25-year old Japanese driver will be the FIA WRC2 series, where he will be reunited with British co-driver Daniel Barritt, with whom he contested Finnish championship rallies in 2016.
It is not announced which of the WRC2 events will be contested by Katsuta and whether Toyota Gazoo plan to enter the new WRC2 championship.
"The Rally Challenge Program has been strengthened, and so an even more rigorous world awaits me," Katsuta said.
"However, I am determined to push myself to the limits, and I am confident that I will be able to grow significantly.
"Next season will help me prepare for the future, and I will do my utmost to ensure that I compete in every rally to the best of my ability and use each event as a stepping stone to the next."
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