Taito Kato still focused on his goal of winning the F4 title in 2024

In addition to the difficulties of learning a new circuit such as the Nürburgring, Taito Kato had to deal with the ever-changing weather on the Eifel mountain range, as well as poor technical conditions which slowed his progress. However, the Japanese hopeful was able to finish P4 twice and remain as strong as ever in the race for the French F4 Championship title with the FFSA Academy.

Qualifying is always an important part of the race, but Taito Kato didn’t fare as well as hoped in Germany. “I had a throttle problem, which considerably reduced my chances of putting in a good lap. I had less time than my rivals to get my tyres up to temperature and make the effort to be fast. I was just able to put in a decent lap at the end of the session and finish with P6. But there’s no doubt that with one or two more laps, I could have done better, as the tyres were starting to get better grip. It’s a shame, because the weather conditions were good at the time,” regretted Taito.

On Saturday, however, the Nürburgring was hit by rain. “I got off to an excellent start, but the conditions were very slippery and I had to go wide to avoid some drivers, which caused me to lose a lot of places right from the start of the race.” Finishing P8, the Suzuka Honda Racing School-backed driver was unable to claim a podium finish in Race 2 despite starting in 5th place. “A driver hit me from behind and damaged my suspension in the first part of the race. My car was no longer as effective and I had to fight hard to keep 4th place.”

On Sunday, the FFSA mechanics again fitted the 25 cars with slicks. This time, without any problems, Taito Kato was able to demonstrate his talent and competitiveness. “When I only started 10th because of my technical problem in Qualifying, I was expecting a difficult race. In the end, I got off to the perfect start again and managed to quickly get back in touch with the leading group.”

The Japanese driver set the fastest lap of the race and made a number of perfectly negotiated overtakes to move up to 4th, just behind the 3rd-placed driver. “I was quicker than him, but he managed to defend his place. The Championship remains very tight. I’m currently 3rd, but only 10 points behind the leader. There are three races left and anything is still possible!”

Info Kartcom / Photo © Gruppe C