Taki Inoue

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Taki Inoue
Born (1963-09-05) 5 September 1963 (age 60)
Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityJapan Japanese
Active years19941995
TeamsSimtek, Footwork
Entries18 (18 starts)
Championships0
Wins0
Podiums0
Career points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
First entry1994 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry1995 Australian Grand Prix

Takachiho "Taki" Inoue (井上 隆智穂 Inoue Takachiho,

racing driver
.

Biography

Inoue was born in

1994
.

Formula One

Inoue's damaged car is towed back to the pits after his bizarre practice accident at the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix.

He participated in 18 Formula One Grand Prix races. His first appearance was a one-off race for Simtek at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, from which he retired. For the next year he moved to Footwork Arrows. 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.[2] 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, 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 driven to the scene by a marshal hit him, injuring his leg, although he recovered for the next race.[3][4][2][5]

Inoue driving for Footwork at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

For most of the season his team-mate was

Marlboro Italy.[8]

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 publicly proclaimed himself as the "worst driver in Formula One", admitted that he initially had no idea what a pit stop was, and in an interview with the Top Gear magazine in 2015 stated that he was "not good enough to drive in F1".[9][5]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
1990 Japanese Formula 3 Phoenix Racing Team With Plus B 3 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1991 Japanese Formula 3 Dallara Japan Racing 9 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1992 Japanese Formula 3 Super Nova Racing 11 0 0 0 0 5 10th
1993 Japanese Formula 3 Super Nova Racing 11 0 0 0 0 6 9th
1994 International Formula 3000 Super Nova Racing 8 0 0 0 0 0 NC
Formula One MTV Simtek Ford 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1995 Formula One Footwork Hart 17 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1996 BPR Global GT Series Konrad Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 0 NC
1999 All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship Club: Yellow Magic 4 0 0 0 0 3 32nd
Sources:[10][11][12]

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
1994 Super Nova Racing SIL
15
PAU
Ret
CAT

13
PER
13
HOC
12
SPA
14
EST

9
MAG
Ret
NC 0
Sources:[11][12]

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points
1994 MTV Simtek Ford Simtek S941 Ford V8 BRA PAC SMR MON ESP CAN FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR EUR JPN
Ret
AUS NC 0
1995 Footwork Hart Footwork FA16
Hart V8
BRA
Ret
ARG
Ret
SMR
Ret
ESP
Ret
MON
Ret
CAN
9
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
Ret
BEL
12
ITA
8
POR
15
EUR
Ret
PAC
Ret
JPN
12
AUS
Ret
NC 0
Source:[13]

Complete JGTC results

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DC Points
1999 Club: Yellow Magic Ferrari F355 GT GT300 SUZ FUJ
8
SUG
Ret
MIN FUJ
12
TAI MOT
Ret
32nd 3
Sources:[10][14]

References

  1. ^ a b "Inoue joins Minardi". GrandPrix.com. 12 February 1996. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Take Inoue and the Safety Car". The Racing Spot. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Tatra T-623". Banovsky's Car of the Day. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Taki Inoue - Biography". F1 Rejects. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Interview: Top Gear meets Taki Inoue, F1's worst-ever driver". Top Gear. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Katayama at Tyrrell again". GrandPrix.com. 15 January 1996. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  7. ^ "F1 News > Minardi to get Fisichella?". GrandPrix.com. 4 March 1996. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Five drivers bidding for Minardi". Grand Prix.com. 15 January 1996. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  9. ^ "RedBull.com speaks to the self proclaimed 'worst Formula One driver ever.'". RedBull.com. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Taki Inoue". Driver Database. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Taki Inoue Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Taki Inoue". Motor Sport. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  13. .
  14. ^ "Autobacs Cup GT Championship 1999 – Series Ranking". Super GT. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2024.

External links