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Taki Inoue

Born	(1963-09-05) 5 September 1963 (age 61) Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Japanese
Active years	1994–1995
Teams	Simtek, Footwork
Entries	18 (18 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1994 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry	1995 Australian Grand Prix

Takachiho "Taki" Inoue (井上 隆智穂 Inoue Takachiho, born 5 September 1963) is a Japanese former racing driver.

Biography

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

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. 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.

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. 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 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".

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

1. ^ "Inoue joins Minardi". GrandPrix.com. 12 February 1996. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
2. ^ "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. ^ "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. ^ "Taki Inoue". Driver Database. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
11. ^ "Taki Inoue Results". Motorsport Stats. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
12. ^ "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.

External links

• Taki Inoue on Twitter

v t e Arrows
Arrows Grand Prix International (1978–1990) Notable personnel Franco Ambrosio Alan Rees Jackie Oliver Tony Southgate David Wass Notable drivers  ITA Mauro Baldi  Austria Gerhard Berger  BEL Thierry Boutsen  ITA Alex Caffi  USA Eddie Cheever  FRG Christian Danner  GBR Martin Donnelly  GBR Brian Henton  Australia Alan Jones  FRG Jochen Mass  ITA Riccardo Patrese  FRG Bernd Schneider  BRA Chico Serra  ITA Siegfried Stohr   SWI Marc Surer  FRG Rolf Stommelen  New Zealand Mike Thackwell  CAN Jacques Villeneuve Sr.  GBR Derek Warwick  FRG Manfred Winkelhock Cars FA1 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A10B A11 A11B
Japan Footwork Arrows (1991–1996) Notable personnel Alan Jenkins Wataru Ohashi Jackie Oliver Mark Preston Notable drivers  ITA Michele Alboreto  ITA Alex Caffi  BRA Christian Fittipaldi  JPN Taki Inoue  ITA Gianni Morbidelli  ITA Max Papis  BRA Ricardo Rosset  JPN Aguri Suzuki  Netherlands Jos Verstappen  GBR Derek Warwick Cars A11C FA12 FA12C FA13 FA13B FA14 FA15 FA16 FA17
TWR Arrows (1997–2002) Notable personnel Nick Chester Mike Coughlan Chris Dyer Eghbal Hamidy Laurent Mekies Steve Nielsen Ossi Oikarinen Nicolò Petrucci Mark Preston Sergio Rinland Rob Taylor Tom Walkinshaw John Walton Notable drivers  BRA Enrique Bernoldi  SPA Pedro de la Rosa  BRA Pedro Diniz  GBR Damon Hill  GER Heinz-Harald Frentzen  FIN Mika Salo  Japan Toranosuke Takagi  Netherlands Jos Verstappen Cars A18 A19 A20 A21 A22 A23

v t e Simtek
Founders	Nick Wirth Max Mosley
Drivers	David Brabham  Roland Ratzenberger  Andrea Montermini  Domenico Schiattarella  Jean-Marc Gounon  Jos Verstappen  Taki Inoue
Formula One cars	S941 S951

• 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