Yoshimi Katayama
Yoshimi Katayama (片 山 义 美Japanese, Yoshimi Katayama, born May 15, 1940 in the Hyōgo Prefecture ) is a former Japanese motorcycle and car racer and the half brother of Takashi Yorino.
Career in motorsports
Motorcycle Racing
Yoshimi Katayama began his career in motorcycle racing and in 1964 with Suzuki factory rider. He had in 1967 when he won the world championship races in France and the Netherlands in the 50 cc class His best international racing season. In the World Cup, he finished behind his brand and teammate Hans Georg Anscheidt the second overall place. In the overall ranking of the 125 cc class this year, he finished fourth and won the Grand Prix of Germany.
He had in 1966 celebrated the Japanese World Championship race in Fuji in the 50 cc class his first Grand Prix victory.
Touring and sports car racing
After the end of the career as a motorcycle racer 1967 he began two years later to drive sports car racing. He was works driver at Mazda and during one of his first missions surprising fifth at the 24 - hour race at Spa -Francorchamps in 1969. His teammate in the Mazda R100 was the Belgians Yves Deprez. For the first time in a sports car race victorious, he remained in 1975 with the 500 - km race at Suzuka; a race without Championship status. Important, however, was the overall winner at the 1000 km race at Fuji in 1977, because this race was one for Fuji Long Distance Series.
Katayama drove many races for the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship and won in the time as a sports car racer, which lasted until 1998, 15 sports car race and finished on the podium 33 times in the first three. His last race victory he celebrated in 1984 in collaboration with Vern Schuppan in a Porsche 956 in the 500-mile race at Fuji. He had the last race start at the 1998 Special Fuji GT Cup, a race of the Japanese GT Championship.
For many, including international sports car racing, he was often part of a legendary Japanese driver trios. In 1983, he was the first time in the 24- hour race at Le Mans with the two partners Takashi Yorino Yojiro Terada and at the start. Yorino and Katayama are brothers, the same mother but have different fathers; hence the difference in the last name. The race finished the trio in the 12th position overall and was class winner.
Seven times he was engaged in long- distance races in the west of France, scoring his best finish in the overall standings calculated in the only race he did not contest for Mazdapeed. In 1984 he was tenth in a Lola T616.