Finland (FIN)

1997: Started rallying with Ford Escort RS 2000

2000: Drives Opel

2001: Drives Opel and VW, Group n Finnish Champion

2002:  Drives VW

2003:  Drives VW

2004: Drives Suzuki and Mitsubishi, 4th JWRC for Drivers

2005: Drives Suzuki and Peugeot, 5th JWRC for Drivers, Finnish Champion

2006: Drives Ford, 6th in Sweden

Entries of WRC Events

Spring of 1997 saw Kosti finally taking the major step into rallying as the first proper rally car was bought, it was a Ford Escort RS 2000. It didn't go quite as planned, however, since the technical failures seemed to end quite a few events. Nevertheless, class victories in proper rallies and rallysprints made it possible to go on.

He stepped up to the Finnish Rally Championship in 2000 and in 2001 swept the board in the N2 class of his home series driving a Opel Astra. With co-driver Lasse Hirvijarvi, Kosti won his class on the Arctic Lapland, Kaloppi, Exide and Valvoline Rallies to claim the championship title. During the whole season he had a tight fight with Mikko Hirvonen and he was able to beat him. Kosti was also N2 class winner in Rally Finland and on two rounds of the German Championship, again at the wheel of his Polo. A class-winning performance on October's International ADAC 3- Städte Rally in Germany against Polo-driving teams from all over Europe made him possible to drive VW Racing´s Polo on the final round of the World Rally Championship, the Rally of Great Britain. It was the WRC debut of the VW Polo Super 1600. 

In 2002 he tackled all six rounds of the FIA Junior World Rally Championship in a VW and scored one point in Germany. In 2003 he kept on driving with VW Polo in the Junior World Rally Championship. The season started well. In Monte Carlo he set one fastest stage time and claimed second place in the Super 1600 category, but he was excluded after the event due to the illegal brakes. In Turkey he was able to win the Junior event. After that the season was very poor and he was not able to get any points. In the middle of the season he started the co-operation with two-time World Champion Marcus Gronholm and with the help of Gronholm he was able to get a contract with Suzuki. 

Katajamaki was one of four drivers receiving technical support from Monster Sport Europe in the 2004 FIA Junior World Rally Championship. He took the Junior´s second places in Turkey and Finland, but was not able to beat team-mate P-G Andersson and placed fourth in the JWRC series. During the season he also got his first experience with the four-wheel-drive car, when he competed the Finnish Rally Championship series in a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7. It was very difficult to adjust himself to the different driving style and it took much time to compete successfully in the group, where the level of the competition is very high. On the last event of the season he finally found the speed and placed second in his own class, but the placing in the series was only tenth.  

In 2005 Katajamaki continued in the JWRC series with Suzuki and drove also the Finnish Rally Championship series in a Peugeot 206 WRC run by the Team Marcus Gronholm Rallying Finland. The JWRC season was difficult, because he was still driving with the old Ignis, but took two podium places and placed fifth in the series. In Finland he was able to reach his goal winning the Championship and taking the FRC title. During the season he took three wins and administer well the powerful World Rally Car.  

He had already completed three years of the Junior World Rally Championship and it was time to move one step higher. For the season 2006 Marcus Gronholm signed with Ford and arranged for his protégé the program of five rounds of the WRC 2006 season behind the wheel of a Ford Focus RS WRC04 run by the M-Sport customer program. In Sweden, on his first ever WRC event in a World Rally Car, he scored the sixth place knowing that it is still long way to go to achieve the speed of his Promoter - Marcus Gronholm, who won the event. Katajamaki knows that this year will show his future in the rallying.