A large number of Japanese racing drivers have taken part in the Macau F3 Grand Prix races in the past. After gaining valuable experience in Macau to build their skill, many of them have been active as professional racing drivers in Japan and overseas. Here, we talked to one of those drivers, Tatsuya Kataoka.

Kataoka was born in Aichi prefecture, Japan, in 1979. He began racing with go-karts when he was twelve and he attracted attention by winning the FSA class of the Japanese Kart Championship for two consecutive years. Then he was picked up by the scholarship program of Formula Toyota Racing School in 2000 and, after a season in Formula Toyota, Tatsuya got a drive in the Japanese F3 Championship series in 2002. His first and only opportunity to race in Macau came in his second year in the category.

Looking back on it, Kataoka told us how he thought of the Macau F3 Grand Prix ten years ago.

“Macau Grand Prix is, in terms of F3, very well known as the gateway to international motor racing success. I think I had a clear idea of it as the race between the leading young drivers from around the world, using the F3 cars prepared under the universal technical regulations.”

“Another key feature of the Grand Prix is the temporary street track, Guia Circuit, and we would never have an opportunity to drive around that kind of race track here in Japan. As you know, Guia Circuit is built by closing public roads and it is really difficult to drive fast on it. And you will have a limited track time only during the race weekend.”

“So, it was my understanding that, for me, Macau Grand Prix would be the place to compare myself with the world leading drivers under such difficult conditions to know where I stood amongst them. In that sense, I also felt the concept of the race event was very clear and easy to understand.”

What was Kataoka's reaction when he was told he was going to drive in the Macau F3 Grand Prix race in 2003?

“You might expect something like, 'Well, I had mixed feelings of anxiety and anticipation,' but it wasn't the case. Because, at that time, I was still very young and I could only go ahead, I only had good hope after everything was decided!”

Then came the race weekend, he arrived at Macau. As he said, the race track was used as public roads on normal days, so the drivers only had a few official practice sessions to learn the track. Did he make any preparations for this situation?

“Today, you can drive around the track virtually, using a driving simulator, even in Japan. But we had nothing like that at the time, so I obtained an onboard footage somehow and watched it many, many times to learn the track. The quality of picture was poor and I didn't even know who the driver was, but it was all I had anyway.”

What was his impression when he actually saw Guia Circuit for the first time?

“Even though I had done some preparation with the video, there were still a lot of things to learn by driving myself on the actual race track. And I remember I have got a bit nervous for the first few laps because it felt much faster than the actual speed that I was driving, as everything was so close to the track on the street circuit. On arrival at Macau, I drove around the public roads that were to be used as the race track in a rental car. You can see relatively a way ahead from the eye point of a passenger car. When you sit in the cockpit of a F3 car, your vantage point is well below the top edge of guard rails, so you can't see anything beyond them. Quite literally, you have to drive a car between the guard rails and walls. On top of this, any street tracks tend to be much dustier than the permanent race circuits do, especially in the early sessions, because they are also used as public roads.”

“I know what I should think of in that situation today because I have gained a lot of experience since then. But, at that time, I was much less experienced and had an ambition to make my name by beating the leading drivers within a short period of time of the weekend. So I wanted to push as much as possible but I also knew, if I would go too far, it would have ended up with a crash... Given a limited track time for practice, I really realized it was so exciting and challenging race track that would test the drivers' bravery and skill.”

Unlike the current race format, the combined times from two races, called as Leg 1 and Leg 2, made the final classification of the Grand Prix in those days. In Leg 1, Kataoka was fighting hard with Fabio Carbone for third but he spun when he was approaching to Lisboa Bend side-by-side with the Brazilian. To make matters worse for him, his engine wouldn't start again, so he had no choice but to retire. Starting Leg 2 from the bottom end of the grids, Kataoka's rapid recovery seemed to lead to a surprising top six finish in the second leg but his race abruptly ended with a crash.

“As for the first leg, it happened when Carbone and I were approaching to Lisboa side-by-side. I was on the outside but I went too close to the guard rails, putting my tires on a very dusty part on the edge of the track. As a result, I spun on the spot and tried to rejoin but my starter motor didn't work! It was really a bad luck but I had to give up the race.”

“The combined time race meant I had to start the second leg from the dead bottom of the grids and I was already a few laps down from the leader. So I had nothing to lose and drove just on the limit. But eventually I crashed my car when I had moved up to sixth or so.”

“I had no regret after the race. But I still think only if the starter had worked and I had rejoined in the first leg, I would have finished the leg without being lapped and my race in the second leg would have come out differently.”

After going through his memory of the race, we asked him, 'If Tatsuya Kataoka lives in 2013 can give a brief advice to himself in Macau ten years ago, what do you say?'

“Well, I would say, 'Get going from a point well before the limit.' The young drivers tend to be too aggressive, so I would tell him to take a steady and safe approach. I am not sure how this approach would have had influence on my lap times then but I guess, if I knew it, the things would have gone differently in my race.”

In 2003, the Japanese F3 Championship races were run on the other manufacturer's control tires. This meant that he, as a competitor in the championship, drove a F3 car with Yokohama Tire's product for the first time in the Macau Grand Prix weekend.

“It was simply impossible to compare those two tires I used in that year because the Japanese championship races were held only at the permanent race circuits, while we drove on the street track in Macau. But I remember I had an impression, at that time, that the tires provided a good grip level even on the public road type surfaces. They were also very controllable and I didn't have any difficulty at all with the change of manufacturer to Yokohama Tire.”

It goes without saying that nowadays Kataoka is active as a professional racing driver in various categories in Japan and overseas, including the Super GT series. As the last question, we asked him what does that experience in Macau mean in his splendid racing career to date.

“For me at that young age, the Macau F3 Grand Prix was so exiting experience, which gave me some mental confidence. I had opportunities to drive around the famous daunting race tracks, such as Nurburgring or Sarthe Circuit in Le Mans, later in my career but, to me, Guia Circuit in Macau is simply incomparable with any other. It was a great experience for a young racing driver to race in Macau and what I learned then is still very valuable to me today.”

Macau Grand Prix tests the rising stars' skill and bravery. The laurels are there but you can reach them only after getting through the challenging street track between the walls and guard rails that create a lot of blind corners...