Past Driver Profile: Ukyo Katayama

Ukyo Katayama was born on May 29, 1963 in Tokyo, Japan. He got his first experience with racing in 1982 when in Tsukuba he became a mechanic. In 1983 Katayama started racing in the Japanese FJ1600 and then in 1984 he won the title. For the 1985 season, Katayama then moved up to the Japanese Formula 3 series in which he drove for Nissan Hasemi Motorsports and had a fairly successful season by finishing 6th in the championship. In 1986 Katayama started racing in Europe in Formula Renault but he had a severe crash that almost ended his racing career at Clermont-Ferrand in which he broke his neck and both of his legs.

For 1988 when Katayama was fully recovered and returned to racing, he went home to Japan and entered the Japanese Formula 3000 Series. Katayama did not have that much success that year as he only had one point scoring finish with a 5th place finish which placed him 11th in the championship. Katayama also competed in the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1988 in which he suffered another heavy crash but was not hurt. For 1989 Katayama continued in the Japanese Formula 3000 series but he did not manage to score any points throughout the season. He also competed in the first four races of the International Formula 3000 series. He was not able to qualify for two of those races and did not score points in the two he started.

For 1990 things started to get better for Katayama. Still competing in the Japanese Formula 3000 series he was able to finish on the podium three times during the season and finished 5th in the championship. He returned to the series for a fourth time in 1991 and won the season opening race at Suzuka and continued to have success the rest of the season. He won a second race at Suzuka later in the season and then had three 2nd place finishes near the end of the year which was enough for him to win the championship.

Katayama's success in Japan allowed him to secure a seat in Formula 1 for the first time in 1992 with the Larrousse team. Katayama started his career off by qualifying in 18th position for his debut race in South Africa which was a better result than team mate Bertrand Gachot achieved. Through attrition in the race Katayama was able to climb up to a 12th place finish although he was four laps behind winner Nigel Mansell. Katayama able to replicate the 12th place finish at the next race in Mexico and then at the following Brazilian Grand Prix he was able to finish 9th. Katayama then could not qualify for the race in Spain, retired in San Marino, and then failed to pre-qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix. Katayama looked a lot stronger at the Canadian Grand Prix as he qualified 11th which was eight spots better than team mate Gachot and he was then running in 5th during the race until his engine blew in the closing stages. Katayama then again retired from the next four races until finally finishing again at the Belgian Grand Prix in 17th position. At the Italian Grand Prix Katayama after qualifying in 23rd place, he was able to equal his best finish of the year with a 9th place finish despite a transmission failure with three laps to go. After a retirement in Portugal Katayama finish 11th for his home race in Japan and then once again retired at the season finale in Australia. Katayama had some decent results with the struggling Larrousse team for his debut season but did not manage to score any points.

1993 saw Katayama switch to the Tyrrell team. The team was really struggling at this time and the results showed. Katayama retired from the first six races of the season and struggled to qualify in the top 20. Katayama finally finished a race at the Canadian Grand Prix although it was only a 17th place finish in which he was five laps down from the winner. Katayama then retired in France and then finished the British Grand Prix in 13th position. Tyrrell brought a new chassis to the German Grand Prix but the results were the same. Katayama once again retired but at the following Hungarian Grand Prix he was able to achieve a season best 10th place finish. Katayama was able to finish the next two races with a 15th in Belgium and a 14th in Italy but the reliability would not last as he retired from the final three races of the season although he put in a season best qualifying performance with 13th in his home race of Japan. The season ended once again with no points for Katayama.

Katayama stayed with Tyrrell for 1994 and results instantly became better than the previous years. At the first race in Brazil Katayama qualified in 10th place and then in the race got all the way up to 5th place for his first career points in Formula 1. After a retirement at the Pacific Grand Prix, Katayama put in another points finish with a 5th place at the San Marino Grand Prix. Katayama then retired from the next four races although he was able to consistently qualify in or near the top 10. At the British Grand Prix Katayama put in a strong qualifying performance of 8th and was able to once again score points with a 6th place finish. The German Grand Prix looked as if it could have been a strong race for Katayama after qualifying in 5th. After many retirements on the first lap of the race Katayama was running in 3rd place and looked as if he could have been on for a podium but he retired on lap 6 as his throttle stuck open. Katayama matched his 5th place in qualifying in Hungary but was then taken out on a first lap collision possibly costing him more points. Katayama then retired from the next three races until he finally managed to finish again at the European Grand Prix. He achieved a 7th place finish just outside of the points and then retired from the final two races of the season. Despite just finishing four races throughout the year three of them were in the points. This gave Katayama a total of 5 points which placed him 17th in the championship. Katayama later revealed that following his performance in 1994 he was offered a contract by a top team in Formula 1 but could not take it. He also later revealed that he had cancer in his back during the season although it did not threaten his life his Formula 1 commitments delayed treatment.

Katayama returned to Tyrrell again for the 1995 season but the results were not as strong as 1994. He retired from the first race in Brazil and then in the second race in Argentina was able to finish in 8th position. Katayama retired from the next six races on the schedule and his qualifying results were not in the top 10 like they were the previous season. Katayama finally managed to finish a race again in Germany where he took a 7th place finish in a race of high attrition. Following two more retirements, Katayama finished 10th in Italy. At the next race in Portugal Katayama was involved in a heavy accident at the start of the race which left him with a strained neck and bruises. This caused him to sit out the next race but he returned at the Pacific Grand Prix with a 14th place finish. Katayama then retired from the final two races of the season. This left Katayama with a third season in which he did not score any points.

For 1996 Katayama returned to the Tyrrell team one last time. He started the year off with an 11th place finish in Australia and a 9th in Brazil. He then retired in Argentina and was then disqualified for the European Grand Prix for an illegal push start on the formation lap and then retired from the next seven races. The next time Katayama made it to the end of the race was the Hungarian Grand Prix in which he finished in 7th position. Katayama also made it to the end in the next three races with an 8th in Belgium, 10th in Italy, and a 12th in Portugal until retiring from the last race of the year in Japan. Unfortunately for Katayama this meant another year in which he did not score any points.

1997 saw Katayama switch to Minardi but results were difficult to achieve. He did not retire from as many races during the year but the car was to slow in order to produce any significant results. The best results Katayama could achieve during the year were 10th place finishes at Monaco and Hungary. This left Katayama with no points once again and he announced his retirement from Formula 1 near the end of the season.

Katayama continued to race after his career in Formula 1 most notably at the 24 Hours of LeMans. In 1999 Katayama finished 2nd overall and won his class. Katayama also has a passion for mountain climbing and he had achieved climbing some of the highest mountains in the world. While not enjoying mountain climbing these days Katayama is now a commentator for Formula 1 races in Japan.