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Taki Inoue

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Taki Inoue
Born (1963-09-05) 5 September 1963 (age 61)
Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
Formula One World Championship career
NationalityJapan Japanese
Active years1994–1995
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,[1] born 5 September 1963) is a Japanese former racing driver.

Biography

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Inoue was born in Kobe. He competed in the British Formula Ford Championship in 1988, followed by a spell in All-Japan Formula Three from 1989 to 1993 and a season in the International Formula 3000 championship in 1994.

Formula One

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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 Gianni Morbidelli, but late in the season Max Papis replaced Morbidelli, and was sometimes outpaced by Inoue. Entering the 1996 season, Inoue lobbied Tyrrell for a drive, but the team chose Ukyo Katayama with his Mild Seven sponsorship money from Japan Tobacco.[6] Instead, he was announced in January to drive for the Minardi team.[1] However, one of his personal sponsors pulled out at the last minute and Inoue withdrew from F1. Minardi took on Giancarlo Fisichella instead.[7] Fisichella, the team's test driver in 1995, had backing from 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

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Career summary

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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

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(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

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(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

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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

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  1. ^ a b "Inoue joins Minardi". GrandPrix.com. 12 February 1996. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Take Inoue and the Safety Car". The Racing Spot. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. 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 25 July 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b "Interview: Top Gear meets Taki Inoue, F1's worst-ever driver". Top Gear. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Katayama at Tyrrell again". GrandPrix.com. 15 January 1996. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  7. ^ "F1 News > Minardi to get Fisichella?". GrandPrix.com. 4 March 1996. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Five drivers bidding for Minardi". Grand Prix.com. 15 January 1996. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  9. ^ "RedBull.com speaks to the self proclaimed 'worst Formula One driver ever.'". RedBull.com. 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Taki Inoue". Driver Database. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Taki Inoue Results". Motorsport Stats. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Taki Inoue". Motor Sport. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  13. ^ Small, Steve (2000). Grand Prix Who's Who 3rd Edition. Travel Publishing. p. 300. ISBN 1902007468.
  14. ^ "Autobacs Cup GT Championship 1999 – Series Ranking". Super GT. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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