PARIS, France: Takamoto Katsuta won the Croatia Rally for Toyota and took the world championship lead on Sunday after Hyundai's overnight leader Thierry Neuville crashed with victory in his grasp. The win was the second in a row for the Japanese driver after his career first in Kenya last month.
Neuville had led by 1 minute 14.5 seconds going into the final leg and was set for Hyundai's first victory of the season when he hit a concrete block and smashed the car's front right suspension with only a few kilometres remaining.
The Belgian tried to continue but had to stop before finishing 20th.
Katsuta was handed the win instead with Finnish teammate Sami Pajari moving up to second, 20.7 seconds behind. New Zealander Hayden Paddon finished third for Hyundai.
The Japanese has 84 points, with team-mates Elfyn Evans and Oliver Solberg on 74 and 68 respectively.
Welshman Evans and Sweden's Solberg crashed out on Friday, returning on Saturday to fight for the points handed out in the final Power Stage and from the Super Sunday classification. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
