Katsuhiro Ueo

Biography

He was into cars from a young age, and started out competing in gymkhana events, starting with a R32 Skyline GT-R. At one of these events one of his younger colleagues took him to the Touge and challenged him saying that he couldn't do it. So he went out and proved him wrong, and this got him started in drifting. As well as his drifting he is also the owner of tuning shop and used car dealership Racing Garage SIFT.

Drifting career

To start off his drifting activities, Ueo got hold of his first AE86, which was a Corolla Levin AE85 (converted to AE86), he had owned this from 1998-1999 and had won several drifting events (Carboy, Battle Magazine, P's Cars) at the time and was also known as 'Manji-master'. In 2000, Ueo decided to change to a Sprinter Trueno, starting with a black SR trim AE85 and used it at the Kyushu Ikaten, which was held at Mobility Omuta on March 29, 2000 (he won in the finals against Masao Suenaga). The 2000-spec AE85 was later repainted Cream in mid-2000 with revised changes and won the All-Japan Ikaten at Bihoku Circuit on Sept. 7, 2000. Starting in late 2000, Ueo got hold of a genuine AE86 Sprinter Trueno (GTV Trim) which he swapped parts out of the AE85 to the new AE86. This car was more commonly known as Professor, due to a decal that was placed on the side of the car at the time. Ueo continued to use this AE86 for 2002 until 2006.

He has been competing in the D1 Grand Prix since the first season, debuting at Round 3. He has always done well, getting his first win in 2002 and going on to take the championship. Ueo had switch to two different Truenos starting 2003 up until 2004, he used an AE85 (different from 2000 one) while the GTV was used as a backup car. In 2004 however, Ueo had a tough season, either unable to pull through the First Round or Best 16. It turned out, that the AE85's chassis strength had started to weaken since the reinforcement method done to it was by the use of rivets, compared to the GTV which used a tougher stitch-welding method. At this point, Ueo went back to the GTV for 2005-2006, and Ueo was able to retain his fame, after getting his 2nd victory at Round 2 of 2005. Ueo also accomplish of getting 3 straight 100 tansou runs at the 7th round of 2005.

In 2006, Ueo entered the D1 Street Legal series, starting out with the AE86 in the first round. On-wards however, he changed to a Nissan Silvia S15 for NKB Racing and his performance has been successful despite using a different car and . During Round 7 of 2006, he attempted to pilot the NKB SR20-powered Nissan Fairlady Z Z33, but could not proceed to the Best 16 during the qualifying round as the rear lift-gate had lifted open, and was deemed as a mechanical issue from the judges.

In 2007, he changed teams and as well with a new car in the main series, moving to Team M.O.V.E's Nissan Silvia (S15), the car that won the 2005 championship at the hands of Yasuyuki Kazama while his teammate at the time, Hideo Hiraoka, was assigned with Team M.O.V.E's second S15, which Kazama used for the D1GP UK Silverstone and D1GP Las Vegas 2006 Exhibition Matches. He has not adapted well to the new vehicle and finished the season down in 20th place.

In 2015, After the event of Formula D Japan, Ueo had made a comeback to D1 Street Legal, after a 7-year absence, which he is sponsored by Z.S.S. Racing, and driving the S15 once again, starting in 2015. He has done very well, managing to earn 2nd overall.

In 2016, following his successful season of 2015, more luck shines when Ueo manages to get his first win after 10 years of being in D1SL, as well as being a D1GP veteran to still compete in the spin-off series. After 2 more wins and a 3rd-place podium, Ueo has been crowned as the 2016 D1SL Series Champion, earning 1st overall.

Ueo has competed in Formula D starting in 2008, first appearing at the Red Bull Drifting World Championship, which he drove the Wisesquare & Driftspeed-sponsored S15. He would later compete in some of the championship rounds during the following year (2009). His comeback to Formula D was when the series introduced 'Formula D Japan' back in Summer 2014, and competed with his own Formula D-spec S15, as well as his comeback to competitive drifting.

Complete Drifting Results

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