Takachiho "Taki" Inoue (井上 隆智穂 ''Inoue Takachiho'',
born 5 September 1963) is a retired Japanese
racing driver.
Biography
Inoue was born in
Kobe
Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
. He competed in the
British Formula Ford Championship
The British Formula Ford Championship was an entry level single seater motor racing category, designed to give racing drivers their first step into car racing after karting. Drivers from around the world were attracted to the United Kingdom to ...
in 1988, followed by a spell in
All-Japan Formula Three
was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis.
As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series p ...
from 1989 to 1993 and a season in the
International Formula 3000
The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...
championship in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
.
Formula One
He participated in 18
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Grand Prix races. His first appearance was a one-off race for
Simtek
Simtek (Simulation Technology) was an engineering consultancy firm and Formula One racing team. The Formula One (F1) engineering consultancy arm, Simtek Research, was founded in 1989 by Max Mosley and Nick Wirth. It originally was involved ...
at the
1994 Japanese Grand Prix
The 1994 Japanese Grand Prix (officially the XX Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 November 1994 at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 1994 Formula One World Cham ...
, from which he retired. For the next year he moved to
Footwork Arrows
Footwork Arrows was a British Formula One motor racing team which competed during the mid-1990s. Japanese businessman Wataru Ohashi, who was the president of Footwork Express Co., Ltd., a Japanese logistics company, began investing heavily ...
. Over the course of his career he scored no championship points.
He is perhaps best remembered for two bizarre incidents while driving for
Footwork in 1995. The first occurred after a practice session at Monaco, when his stalled car was being towed back to the pits when it was hit by a course car, driven by
Jean Ragnotti
Jean "Jeannot" Ragnotti (born 29 August 1945 in Pernes-les-Fontaines, Vaucluse), is a French former rally driver for Renault in the World Rally Championship.
Ranking among his achievements are his conquering of the Monte Carlo Rally in 1981, w ...
, causing it to roll into the barriers, although Inoue was fit to race the next day. The second happened on
Hungarian GP on live TV worldwide – attempting to assist the marshals in putting out the engine fire which had forced him out of the race, a safety car
Tatra 623
The T-623 is a Czech rear-engined car, which was manufactured by Tatra. It was designed as a rapid response vehicle for use in motorsport and civilian operations.
The car was based on second-hand Tatra 613-2 model, which was originally modifie ...
driven to the scene by a marshal hit him, injuring his leg, although he recovered for the next race.
![Taki Inoue 1995 Britain](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Taki_Inoue_1995_Britain.jpg)
For most of the season his team-mate was
Gianni Morbidelli
Gianni Morbidelli (born 13 January 1968) is an Italian racing driver. He participated in 70 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 March 1990. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 8.5 championship points. He currently competes in the T ...
, but late in the season
Max Papis
Massimiliano "Max" Papis (born 3 October 1969) is an Italian professional motorsport driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the s ...
replaced Morbidelli, and was sometimes outpaced by Inoue.
Entering the season, Inoue lobbied
Tyrrell for a drive, but the team chose
Ukyo Katayama
is a Japanese former racing driver and team manager, most notable for competing for six years in Formula One. He participated in 97 Grands Prix, debuting on 1 March 1992. He scored a total of five championship points, all of them for the Tyrre ...
with his
Mild Seven
, previously called , is a Japanese brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Japan Tobacco.
History
Mevius was launched in 1977 under the name Mild Seven. It was intended to be a mild version of the Seven Stars brand. It was l ...
sponsorship money from
Japan Tobacco
Hepburn: ''Nippon Senbai Kōsha''
, type = 1985-: Public (''kabushiki gaisha'') 1949-1985: Statutory corporation
, traded_as =
, industry = FoodTobacco
, foundation = 1898 (as Imperial Japanese Tobacco Company)1 June 1949 (as Japan Tobacco ...
. Instead, he was announced in January to drive for the
Minardi team.
However, one of his personal sponsors pulled out at the last minute and Inoue withdrew from F1. Minardi took on
Giancarlo Fisichella instead. Fisichella, the team's test driver in 1995, had backing from
Marlboro Italy.
With his sponsorship reduced, Inoue was out of a drive in Formula One. After a brief switch to sportscars, he retired from racing at the end of 1999 and now manages drivers in his own country.
He is also known for his self-deprecating humour, as Inoue has publicly proclaimed himself as the "worst driver in Formula One", admits that he initially had no idea what a
pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit lan ...
was, and in an interview with the ''
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
'' magazine in 2015, states that he was "not good enough to drive in F1".
Racing record
Career summary
Complete International Formula 3000 results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Formula One results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Taki
1963 births
Japanese racing drivers
Japanese Formula One drivers
Simtek Formula One drivers
Arrows Formula One drivers
Living people
Sportspeople from Kobe
International Formula 3000 drivers
Super Nova Racing drivers
Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers
Super GT drivers