Photo: Morio / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
I have a soft spot for Ukyo Katayama, because for me he's basically the sound of 1990s Formula 1 in a Japanese accent. He was out there in the Tyrrell era, this 165cm guy folded into a screaming open-wheel car, wrestling it around at insane speeds when Japan barely had a foothold at the top of the sport, and I just love that kind of stubborn, undersized courage. What gets me even more is what came after the helmet came off. Instead of slowing down he went straight up mountains and onto bikes, treating "retirement" like a dare. There's an easy, almost cheerful toughness to him that you only get from people who've spent years a few seconds from disaster. I don't follow much modern racing, but this guy I quietly respect.
This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.
Overview
Ukyo Katayama is a Japanese racing driver born on May 29, 1963, in Tokyo. He started 97 Formula One Grands Prix from 1992 to 1997 and finished second overall at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans. He later took up mountaineering and has managed the cycling team Team UKYO since 2012.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ukyo Katayama
- Name (Japanese)
- 片山右京
- Reading
- かたやま うきょう
- Born
- May 29, 1963 (age 63)
- Origin
- Tokyo, Japan
- Height
- 165 cm
- Occupation
- Racing driver / Mountaineer / Cyclist
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Rabbit
2. Links
- Official sitehttp://www.teamukyo.com/
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%89%87%E5%B1%B1%E5%8F%B3%E4%BA%AC
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q171543
3. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Ukyo Katayama born?
Ukyo Katayama was born on May 29, 1963 and is 63 years old.
Where is Ukyo Katayama from?
Ukyo Katayama is from Tokyo, Japan.
What does Ukyo Katayama do?
Ukyo Katayama works as Racing driver, Mountaineer, Cyclist.
How tall is Ukyo Katayama?
Ukyo Katayama is 165 cm tall.
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