Ukyo Katayama will be driving for Minardi ...

Published on 19 December 1996 by Verstappen Info Page

Ukyo Katayama will be driving for Minardi in the 1997 F1 World Championship and will drive Minardi number 20. The agreement has been reached thanks to the support of Mild Seven. Katayama will start working at Minardi from January 7, 1997 and will be attending the new Minardi M197 press launch planned for mid January. Minardi has signed a deal with Brian Hart for the exclusive use of the Hart V8 engine and has signed a two-year tyre deal with Bridgestone. Ukyo, 33 years old, started his racing career in the Japanese Formula Junior 1600 in 1983 in which he became champion. He moved to F1 in 1992 to drive for Venturi Larrousse, in 1993 he switched to Tyrrell. He has driven in 78 GP's and scored 5 points. Minardi hasn't yet announced its second driver.

The complete history of the Tyrrell team can be found on our new Tyrrell page. The story is presented year by year and is made by Harold Bouwmeester, our walking F1-encyclopedia of the VIP team. Tell us what you think about the lay-out changes too. The page is currently available in Dutch only, an English version will follow shortly.