Takachiho "Taki" Inoue (井上隆智穂 ''Inoue Takachiho'', born 5 September 1963) is a Japanese former

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

Biography

Inoue was born in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

. He competed in the

British Formula Ford Championship The British Formula Ford Championship was an entry-level single seater Auto racing, 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 ...

in 1988, followed by a spell in All-Japan Formula Three 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 to ...

championship in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Formula One

He participated in 18

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

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 i ...

at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, 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 from 1991 to 1996. Japanese businessman Wataru Ohashi, who was the president of Footwork Express Co., Ltd., a Japanese logistics company, began investing heavily in th ...

. Over the course of his career he scored no championship points. He is perhaps best remembered for two bizarre incidents while driving for

Footwork Footwork may refer to: * Footwork (cricket) *Footwork (dance) *Footwork (genre), a genre of electronic music, also known as juke *Footwork (martial arts) Footwork is a martial arts and combat sports term for the general usage of the legs and ...

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, wh ...

, 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. Taki Inoue 1995 Britain

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 most recently competed in ...

, 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 ...

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 motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Katayama participated in 97 Grands Prix, debuting at the 1992 South African Grand Prix, making him the sport's most experienced Japanese driv ...

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 and was intended to be a mild version of the Seven Stars brand. It was la ...

sponsorship money from

Japan Tobacco The (JT) is a Japanese diversified tobacco company and parent company to Japan Tobacco International, one of the three largest international Big Tobacco product manufacturers in the world. It was established in 1985 as a that inherited the ri ...

. Instead, he was announced in January to drive for the

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

team. However, one of his personal sponsors pulled out at the last minute and Inoue withdrew from F1. Minardi took on

Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Bo ...

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 publicly proclaimed himself as the "worst driver in Formula One", admitted that he initially had no idea what a

pit stop Pitstop may refer to: * Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished * ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill * ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...

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 ori ...

'' magazine in 2015 stated that he was "not good enough to drive in F1".

Racing record

Career summary

Complete International Formula 3000 results

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

Complete Formula One results

( key)

Complete JGTC results

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