Daijiro Kato

was a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, the 2001 250cc world champion, and the 2000 and 2002 Suzuka 8 Hours winner. He died as a result of injuries sustained after a crash during the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Japan.

Career Kato was born in Saitama, and started racing miniature bikes at an early age, becoming a four-time national champion in the Japanese pocket-bike championship.

Kato began road racing in 1992, and entered his first Grand Prix in 1996, as a wild-card rider. Initially he and the bike struck a tire barrier, followed by a foam barrier. There was a gap between the tire and foam barriers, and Kato was severely injured when his head struck the edge of the foam barrier, dislocating the joint between the base of the skull and the cervical spine.

Tributes A month after the crash, on 18 May Honda organised a day whereupon 9,000 people including his last team owner, Fausto Gresini, attended their Aoyama building in Tokyo, where a shrine with exhibits to Daiji-chan had been created. Then British American Racing Formula One driver Takuma Sato led a tribute by expressing his condolences of the death to his friend Kato during 2003 San Marino Grand Prix weekend as a test driver.

In 2006, the Misano World Circuit honoured Kato, who lived part of the season in the area, by naming a new access road to the circuit Via Daijiro Kato. That circuit's offices are located on the road named in his memory.

Career highlights 1993

All Kyushu Area Championship: SP250, GP125, GP250 classes. Ranking: Championship winner in all 3 classes.

1994

All Japan Road Race Championship: GP250 class. First win at round 9 at TI Circuit in Aida, Okayama. Ranking: Seventh.

1995

All Japan Road Race Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Fifth.

1996

All Japan Road Race Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Second. Kato participated as a wild card rider at the world grand prix championship GP250 race in Japan and finished third.

1997

All Japan Road Race Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Championship winner. Kato again participated as a wild card rider at the world grand prix championship GP250 race in Japan and won the race. Kato raced the Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan and finished ninth.

1998

All Japan Road Race Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Eighth. Kato again participated as a wild card rider at the world grand prix championship GP250 race in Japan and won the race a second time.

1999

All Japan Road Race Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Second.

2000

Grand Prix World Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Third. Kato was awarded the Rookie-of-the-Year prize in the GP250 class. Kato, teaming with fellow Japanese rider Tohru Ukawa, won the Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan.

2001

Grand Prix World Championship: GP250 class. Ranking: Championship winner. Kato set a new grand prix world record by winning 11 races throughout the 2001 season. He was also recognized for his efforts to the public by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Science and Technology.

2002

Grand Prix World Championship: MotoGP/500cc class. Ranking: Seventh. Kato was awarded the Rookie-of-the-Year prize in the MotoGP/500cc class. Kato, this time teaming with American rider Colin Edwards, won the Suzuka 8 Hours in Japan for a second time.

2003

Grand Prix World Championship: MotoGP class.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Pts 1996 250cc Honda MAL INA JPN3 ESP ITA FRA NED GER GBR AUT CZE IMO CAT BRA AUS 23rd 16 1997 250cc Honda MAL JPN1 ESP ITA AUT FRA NED IMO GER BRA GBR CZE CAT INA AUS 19th 25 1998 250cc Honda JPN1 MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS ARG 20th 25 1999 250cc Honda MAL JPN5 ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE IMO VAL AUS RSA BRA ARG 20th 11 2000 250cc Honda RSA2 MAL3 JPN1 ESP2 FRA6 ITA3 CAT4 NED8 GBR10 GER4 CZE6 POR1 VAL5 BRA1 PAC1 AUS3 3rd 259 2001 250cc Honda JPN1 RSA1 ESP1 FRA1 ITA10 CAT1 NED11 GBR1 GER2 CZE3 POR1 VAL1 PACRet AUS1 MAL1 BRA1 1st 322 2002 MotoGP Honda JPN10 RSA4 ESP2 FRARet ITARet CAT8 NED12 GBR7 GERRet CZE2 PORRet BRARet PACRet MAL5 AUS4 VAL4 7th 117 2003 MotoGP Honda JPNRet RSA ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR BRA PAC MAL AUS VAL NC 0

Suzuka 8 Hours results