SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer Formula 1 'Ukyo Katayama' Special Edition

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The classic Formula 1 range is all about colour and fun, and you can't get much more colourful and fun than this Ukyo Katayama special edition. For those of you who are too young to remember, Ukyo Katayama is a Japanese racing driver most famously remembered for his Formula 1 career which lasted for 97 races over six seasons (1992-1997) and took in three teams (Tyrell, Minardi and Larrousse). During this time he managed to score 5 World Championship points, which sounds rubbish but you have to remember that when Katayama was racing only the top six finishers scored any points* and he wasn't driving anything like a competitive car.

Indeed, one look at the 1992 F1 Championship shows that Mansell dominated and scored nearly double the second place driver's total, but it was still only 108 points, and of the 39 drivers who competed only 19 managed to score a point at all and only 8 of those got into double figures.

*During Ukyo's time in the sport the points system was 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1, as opposed to the slightly ridiculous school sports day 'everybody' wins nonsense we have now. Winning a single point was a big deal back then. 

Actually what Ukyo is perhaps most remembered for is a very dramatic crash off the start at the 1995 Portugese Grand Prix held at the Estoril circuit. This left him in hospital for for two days with a strained neck and bruising, but it could have been a lot worse!

It seems like TAG Heuer were a personal sponsor for Ukyo Katayama; as you can see he had a TAG Heuer logo on the sleeve of his race suit. This sounds surprising for someone who didn't exactly set the F1 world alight, but what you have to remember is the massive popularity of Formula 1 in Japan during the 80s and 90s (you couldn't even buy tickets for the Japanese Grand Prix without entering a lottery first!) and as the only Japanese driver in the championship Ukyo was a superstar at home.

I don't think I've ever seen a watch dial with a signature on the glass before, that's pretty damned cool. It's actually on the back of the glass as well, so it won't come off when you 'Polywatch' it to get the scratches out. Smart thinking TAG Heuer!

I guess really, signature glass aside and backplate aside, this is nothing you couldn't put together yourself if you had enough classic F1s (I'm only slightly surprised they didn't 'half and half' the strap as well, perhaps they thought that was a step too far!) and although it really is a complete dog's dinner of a watch, I cant help but like it! For me this is the 'ultimate' 80s Formula 1, it evokes the spirit of the decade and it's just a pity that Ukyo wasn't driving for Benetton at the time as that would have made it even more appropriate.

Prices on these are all over the place, I found one for sale for £1100... but I'm reliably informed (by Snowy on the Calibre11 forum, who owns not one but two of these!) that these are generally available for $3-400 dollars in Japan. I'd certainly consider swapping my classic F1 for one of these if the opportunity arises!