Takachiho "Taki" Inoue (井上 隆智穂 Inoue Takachiho, born 5 September 1963) is a Japanese 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, making his first appearance on 6 November 1994 at the Japanese Grand Prix for Simtek. He scored no championship points and was considered a pay driver.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.