Sakata began his Grand Prix career in 1991 and by the 1993 season, finished second to Dirk Raudies in the 125cc class on a Honda. In 1994, he became the first Japanese rider to race for a European factory when he signed with the Aprilia factory. He repaid them by winning the 125cc championship that year. He repeated as champion in 1998 after a tight points battle with Tomomi Manako and Marco Melandri. He retired after the 1999 season.
After retirement, Sakata has become a motorcycle coach and trainer, for the next generation of racers. He is the principal of the MFJ Road Race Academy.[1] In 2018, Sakata participated in the All Japan Road Race Championship at Tsukuba Circuit in the J-GP3 class.[1] It was his first return to the All Japan Championship in 13 years.[2] His participation in the race was at the behest of his students.
