Toranosuke Takagi

Toranosuke Takagi
Toranosuke Takagi
Born	高木虎之介; February 12, 1974 (age 52); Shizuoka, Japan
Other names	Tora Takagi
Occupation	Racing driver (retired)
Years active	1987–2008 (approximate)
Known for	Formula One driver, Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year (2003), Super GT GT500 champion

Toranosuke "Tora" Takagi (高木虎之介; born 12 February 1974) is a retired Japanese race car driver.

Early career

Inspired by his father, who competed in touring car events, Takagi started karting in the early 1980s and entered his inaugural championship in 1987. After securing multiple victories in the All Japan National Kart A2 series, he progressed to Formula Toyota in 1992 and advanced to the All Japan Formula Three championship in 1993, where he placed 10th during his debut season.

Formula One

During a 1994 competition, Takagi attracted the interest of Japanese Formula One racer Satoru Nakajima, leading to his involvement with Nakajima Racing in Formula 3000. He remained with the team from 1995 until becoming a test driver for Tyrrell's F1 outfit in 1997, before earning a race seat in . Subsequently, he competed for Arrows, gaining recognition across Europe. Nevertheless, challenges related to team management and communication prompted his exit from Formula One following the conclusion of the season.

Post–Formula One career

In 2000, Takagi joined Nakajima Racing’s Formula Nippon squad, where he dominated by winning eight out of ten races—a record achievement within the series. He then competed in the CART series with Walker Racing between 2001 and 2002, achieving a personal best finish of fourth place at Houston. In 2003, he transitioned to the Indy Racing League driving for Mo Nunn Racing, finishing tenth overall. That same year, he earned the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year accolade after starting seventh and completing the Indianapolis 500 in fifth position.

Following a less successful IndyCar season, Takagi returned to Japan in 2005 to rejoin Formula Nippon competition. He also became a partial owner of Cerumo and entered a vehicle under "Takagi Planning with CERUMO." Additionally, he co-drove the #38 Toyota Supra in Super GT and secured the championship alongside Yuji Tachikawa. Takagi was the first rookie to claim the Super GT GT500 title since 1996 and remained unmatched until Jenson Button won in 2018.

Career timeline

1987 – Finished eighth in Japanese A2 National Kart Series championship.
1988 – Achieved fourth place in Japanese A2 National Kart Series championship.
1989 – Captured the Japanese A2 National Kart Series championship title.
1990 – Retained Japanese A2 National Kart Series championship crown.
1991 – Runner-up in Japanese FA National Kart Series championship.
1992 – Secured two victories competing in Formula Toyota.
1993 – Placed tenth during rookie year in Japanese Formula 3 championship.
1994 – Sixth place in Japanese Formula 3; participated selectively in Japanese Formula 3000 with Nakajima Planning, earning three top-10 results.
1995 – Second overall in Japanese Formula 3000 with Nakajima Planning, achieving three wins.
1996 – Fourth place in Japanese Formula Nippon (formerly Japanese F3000) with Nakajima Planning, winning twice.
1997 – Served as test driver for Tyrrell F1 team; sixth place in Japanese Formula Nippon with Nakajima Planning, including one victory.
1998 – Debuted as an F1 driver for Tyrrell; recorded two top-10 finishes, including ninth at both Silverstone and Monza.
1999 – Competed with Arrows in Formula One, achieving two top-10 finishes and a career-best seventh place at Melbourne (Australian Grand Prix).
2000 – Claimed Japanese Formula Nippon title by winning eight out of ten races with Nakajima Planning.
2001 – Ranked 21st overall during rookie CART season with Walker Racing, scoring three top-10 finishes including fourth at Houston.
2002 – Finished 15th in CART standings with seven top-10 placements, highlighted by fourth at Chicago.
2003 – Achieved tenth place overall as an Indy Racing League rookie driving for Mo Nunn Racing, securing nine top-10 finishes and third at Texas; placed fifth at first Indianapolis 500 start—the highest among rookies—and earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.
2004 – Competed in IndyCar Series with Mo Nunn Racing.
2005 – Returned to Formula Nippon as owner-driver of Takagi Planning with CERUMO.

Full Formula Nippon results

(key) (Races displayed in bold denote pole position; races in italics signify fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final position	Points
1994	Nakajima Racing	SUZ	FUJ	MIN	SUZ	SUG	FUJ	SUZ 7	FUJ 8	FUJ	SUZ 9	NC	0
1995	Nakajima Racing	SUZ 7	FUJ C	MIN 5	SUZ Ret	SUG 1	FUJ 12	TOK 1	FUJ 1	SUZ Ret		2nd	29
1996	PIAA Nakajima Racing	SUZ Ret	MIN 3	FUJ Ret	TOK Ret	SUZ 1	SUG 1	FUJ Ret	MIN Ret	SUZ 6	FUJ Ret	4th	25

Full Formula One results

(key)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Championship position	Points
1998	PIAA Tyrrell Ford	Tyrrell Tyrrell 026	Ford V10	1998 Australian Grand Prix Ret	1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Ret	1998 Argentine Grand Prix 12	1998 San Marino Grand Prix Ret	1998 Spanish Grand Prix 13	1998 Monaco Grand Prix 11	1998 Canadian Grand Prix Ret	1998 French Grand Prix Ret	1998 British Grand Prix 9	1998 Austrian Grand Prix Ret	1998 German Grand Prix 13	1998 Hungarian Grand Prix 14	style="background:#EFCFFF;" >1998 Belgian Grand Prix {{small >Ret}} >1998 Italian Grand Prix style= background : # C F C F F F ; text-align: center ; color : black ; > {{ small >9}}	{{ small >16}}	{{ small >Ret}}

Full American Open Wheel Racing Results

(key)

CART

Year	Team	No.	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	Final Position	Points Earned
2001	Walker Racing	5	Reynard 01i	Toyota RV8F V8 t	MTY 10	LBH 20	TXS NH	NZR 14	MOT 20	MIL DSQ	DET 20	POR 18	CLE 14	TOR 22	MIS 13	CHI 11	MDO 21	ROA 22	VAN 7	LSZ 6	ROC 26	HOU 4	LS 13	SRF 16	FON 15	21st	29

|}

IndyCar Series

2004 IndyCar Series season

Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final Standing	Points Total
2003	Mo Nunn Racing	G-Force GF09	12	Toyota Indy V8	HMS 12	PHX 22	MOT 8	INDY 5	TXS 3	PPIR 6	RIR 13	KAN 18	NSH 7	MIS 6			NZR 14	CHI 9	FON 18	TX2 7	'10th'	'317'
2003	Mo Nunn Racing	Dallara IR-03													style = " background : # CFEAFF ; " STL 7	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " KTY 18					'10th'	'317'
nowrap Mo Nunn Racing	nowrap Dallara IR-04	style = " background : # DFFFDF ; " HMS 4			style = " background : # CFEAFF ; " PHX 8	style = " background : # CFEAFF ; " MOT 10	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " - INDY -19	style = " background : # CFEAFF ; " TXS -10	style = " background : # EFCFFF ; " RIR -19	style = " background : # EFCFFF ; " KAN -21	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " NSH -11	style = " background : # EFCFFF ; " MIL -20	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " MIS -20	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " KTY -20	style = " background : # EFCFFF ; " PPIR -19	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " NZR -17	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " CHI -13	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " FON -14	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " TX2 -12	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " 15th	style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " 263

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Starting Position	Final Position	Team
2003	G-Force Technologies	Toyota	7	5	Mo Nunn Racing
2004	Dallara	Toyota	26	19	Mo Nunn Racing

Complete Super GT results

(key) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole position)

Year	Team	Vehicle	Category	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Overall Position	Points Earned
2005	ZENT Toyota Team Cerumo	Toyota Supra	GT500	OKA 14	FUJ 1	SEP 11	SUG 11	MOT 12	FUJ 1	AUT 7	SUZ 1		1st	67
2006	Toyota Team Cerumo	Lexus SC430	GT500	SUZ 5	OKA 5	FUJ Ret	SEP 12	SUG 1	SUZ 7	MOT 3	AUT 5	FUJ Ret	5th	71
2007	ZENT Toyota Team Cerumo	Lexus SC430	GT500	SUZ 1	OKA 11	FUJ 6	SEP 4	SUG < br > 11	SUZ < br > 7	MOT < br > 14	AUT < br > Ret	FUJ < br > 4	7th	53
2008	Toyota Team SARD	Lexus SC430	GT500	SUZ < br > 12	OKA < br > 14	FUJ < br > 13	SEP < br > 12	SUG < br > 6	SUZ < br > 15	MOT < br > 13	""AUT" Template:Small 13 style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;” style=“text-align:center;”		21st	11

External links

Official website of Toranosuke Takagi