Shinji Nakano

Japanese racing driver (born 1971)

For the Japanese track cyclist, see Shinji Nakano (cyclist). For the Japanese MotoGP rider, see Shinya Nakano.

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Shinji Nakano

Nakano in 2009

Born|  (1971-04-01) 1 April 1971 (age 54)
Takatsuki, Osaka, Japan
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality|  Japanese
Active years| 1997–1998
Teams| Prost, Minardi, Jordan (Test Driver)
Entries| 33
Championships| 0
Wins| 0
Podiums| 0
Career points| 2
Pole positions| 0
Fastest laps| 0
First entry| 1997 Australian Grand Prix
Last entry| 1998 Japanese Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years| 2005–2008, 2011–2014, 2016
Teams| Courage Compétition, Creation Autosportif, Epsilon Euskadi, OAK Racing
Best finish| 14th (2011)
Class wins| 0

Shinji Nakano (中野 信治, born 1 April 1971[1]) is a Japanese professional racing driver.

His father, Tsuneharu, was also a racing driver. He competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship.[citation needed]

## Racing career

[edit]

### Pre Formula One Career

[edit]

1984-'88:  | Karting, several Japanese titles.(Mugen)

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1989:  | 7th in Japanese Formula 3 championship
1990:  | European Formula Opel Lotus Championship, 1 victory
1991:  | Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries
1992:  | Japanese Formula 3 and Formula 3000 championship
1993-'94:  | Japanese Formula 3 championship
1995-'96:  | Japanese Formula 3000 championship

### Formula One Career

[edit]

Nakano in the 1998 Spanish Grand Prix, driving a Minardi.

Nakano made his debut at the 1997 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne for the Prost Grand Prix team, owned by legendary four times Formula One World Champion Alain Prost. The 1997 season saw him score two world championship points with a pair of sixth places.

With his place at Prost heavily reliant on their engine partners Mugen-Honda, Nakano was dropped in favour of Jarno Trulli, with the second cockpit taken by Olivier Panis, when Prost switched to Peugeot engines. He subsequently joined Minardi for the 1998 season, alongside Esteban Tuero.[2]

Nakano struggled in the under-powered, under-financed Italian team. He failed to score any points in 1998 and bowed out of Formula One racing for good at his home Grand Prix at Suzuka, Japan, having contested a total of 33 Grands Prix. He spent 1999 as an occasional test driver for the Jordan team, which also used Mugen-Honda engines.[3]

### After Formula One

[edit]

After Formula One, Nakano went to race in CART for Walker Racing and Fernandez Racing. He made 56 starts from 2000 to 2002 with a best points finish of 17th in 2002 and a best race result of 4th at the 2002 Molson Indy Toronto. He also started 15th in the 2003 Indianapolis 500 for Beck Motorsports, finishing 14th. He competed in the 2006 and 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans races and returned to the event in 2011 with OAK Racing and 2012 with the Boutsen Ginon squad.

## Helmet

[edit]

Nakano's helmet was black with a black circle on the top surrounded by a white halo, with a red and silver flame design surrounding the visor and a black and silver checkered flag behind of it, in CART he changed the black for white, the halo became blue, the black circle became red, the checkered flag disappeared and the flame became red with blue outline. in LeMans, he added more flames in the point where the checkered flag was.

## Media appearances

[edit]

Since 2016, Nakano has served as a commentator on Formula One races for DAZN Japan.[4][5] He was a guest on the TV Asahi variety programme Aruaru Gijido in March 2017.[6]

## Career statistics

[edit]

### Complete Japanese Formula 3000/Formula Nippon results

[edit]

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

Year  | Entrant  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | DC  | Points

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1992 | Nakajima Racing | SUZ
DNQ | FUJ
12 | MIN
Ret | SUZ
DNQ | AUT
Ret | SUG
Ret | FUJ
12 | FUJ
13 | SUZ
14 | FUJ
16 | SUZ
9 | NC  | 0
1994 | Team Nova  | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ | SUG | FUJ | SUZ
Ret | FUJ | FUJ |  | NC  | 0
Nakajima Racing |  | SUZ
Ret |
1995 | Speed Star Wheel Racing  | SUZ
Ret | FUJ
C | MIN
7 | SUZ
Ret | SUG
3 | FUJ
Ret | TOK
5 | FUJ
9 | SUZ
8 |  | 11th  | 6
1996 | Team Dome with Mugen | SUZ
2 | MIN
13 | FUJ
Ret | TOK
9 | SUZ
6 | SUG
7 | FUJ
3 | MIN
2 | SUZ
9 | FUJ
4 |  | 6th  | 20

Source:[7]

### Complete Formula One results

[edit]

(key)

Year  | Team  | Chassis  | Engine  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | 17  | WDC  | Points

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1997 | Prost Gauloises Blondes  | Prost JS45 | Mugen-Honda MF-301HB 3.0 V10 | AUS
7 | BRA
14 | ARG
Ret | SMR
Ret | MON
Ret | ESP
Ret | CAN
6 | FRA
Ret | GBR
11† | GER
7 | HUN
6 | BEL
Ret | ITA
11 | AUT
Ret | LUX
Ret | JPN
Ret | EUR
10 | 18th  | 2
1998 | Fondmetal Minardi Team SpA | Minardi M198 | Ford JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 | AUS
Ret | BRA
Ret | ARG
13 | SMR
Ret | ESP
14 | MON
9 | CAN
7 | FRA
17† | GBR
8 | AUT
11 | GER
Ret | HUN
15 | BEL
8 | ITA
Ret | LUX
15 | JPN
Ret |  | 18th  | 0

Sources:[8][9]

† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they had completed over 90% of the race distance.

### Complete American Open-Wheel Racing results

[edit]

(key)

#### CART

[edit]

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  | Rank  | Points  | Ref

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2000 | Walker Racing | 5  | Reynard 2Ki  | Honda HR-0 V8t | MIA
8 | LBH  | RIO | MOT
14 | NZR
Wth | MIL
23 | DET
15 | POR
11 | CLE
15 | TOR
14 | MIS
20 | CHI
13 | MDO
19 | ROA
22 | VAN
19 | LS
26 | STL
21 | HOU
8 | SRF
21 | FON
16 |  | 24th | 12 | [10]
2001 | Fernández Racing | 52  | Reynard 01i  | Honda HR-1 V8t | MTY
18 | LBH
12 | TXS
NH | NZR
15 | MOT
8 | MIL
16 | DET
13 | POR
22 | CLE
22 | TOR
9 | MIS
22 | CHI
16 | MDO
18 | ROA
15 | VAN
14 | LAU
22 | ROC
17 | HOU
15 | LS
21 | SRF
12 | FON
21 | 26th | 11 | [11]
2002 | Fernández Racing | Lola B02/00  | Honda HR-2 V8t | MTY
15 | LBH
12 | MOT
10 | MIL
18 | LS
14 | POR
11 | CHI
5 | TOR
4 | CLE
10 | VAN
11 | MDO
9 | ROA
11 | MTL
9 | DEN
16 | ROC
16 | MIA
14 | SRF
13 | FON
15 | MXC
14 |  | 17th | 43 | [12]

#### IRL IndyCar Series

[edit]

Year  | Team  | Chassis  | No.  | Engine  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13  | 14  | 15  | 16  | Rank  | Points  | Ref

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2003 | Beck Motorsports | Dallara IR-03  | 54  | Honda | HMS  | PHX  | MOT
11 | INDY
14 | TXS  | PPIR  | RIR  | KAN  | NSH  | MIS  | STL  | KTY  | NZR  | CHI  | FON  | TX2  | 29th | 35 | [13]

### Complete JGTC results

[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year  | Team  | Car  | Class  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | DC  | Points

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2004 | Team Kunimitsu with Mooncraft | Honda NSX | GT500  | TAI
Ret | SUG
8 | SEP
15 | TOK
10 | MOT
9 | AUT
10 | SUZ
9 | 13th  | 9

Sources:[14][15]

### 24 Hours of Le Mans results

[edit]

Year  | Team  | Co-Drivers  | Car  | Class  | Laps  | Pos. | Class
Pos.

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2005 |  Courage Compétition |  Jonathan Cochet
Bruce Jouanny | Courage C60H-Judd | LMP1  | 52  | DNF  | DNF
2006 |  Courage Compétition |  Jean-Marc Gounon
Haruki Kurosawa  | Courage LC70-Mugen | LMP1  | 35  | DNF  | DNF
2007 |  Creation Autosportif Ltd.  |  Jamie Campbell-Walter
Felipe Ortiz  | Creation CA07-Judd | LMP1  | 55  | DNF  | DNF
2008 |  Epsilon Euskadi |  Stefan Johansson
Jean-Marc Gounon | Epsilon Euskadi EE1-Judd | LMP1  | 158  | DNF  | DNF
2011 |  OAK Racing |  Nicolas de Crem
Jan Charouz | OAK Pescarolo 01 Evo-Judd | LMP2  | 313  | 14th  | 5th
2012 |  Boutsen Ginion Racing |  Bastien Brière
Jens Petersen  | Oreca 03-Nissan | LMP2  | 325  | 24th  | 10th
2013 |  Delta-ADR |  Tor Graves
Archie Hamilton  | Oreca 03-Nissan | LMP2  | 101  | DNF  | DNF
2014 |  Team Taisan |  Martin Rich
Pierre Ehret  | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | GTE
Am  | 327  | 28th  | 8th
2016 |  Race Performance  |  Nicolas Leutwiler
James Winslow | Oreca 03R-Judd | LMP2  | 289  | 44th  | 17th

Sources:[8][16]

### Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

[edit]

Year  | Entrant  | Class  | Car  | Engine  | 1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  | 9  | Rank  | Points

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2012 | ADR-Delta | LMP2  | Oreca 03 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8  | SEB | SPA | LMS | SIL | SÃO | BHR | FUJ
8 | SHA |  | 41st  | 4
2013 | Delta-ADR | LMP2  | Oreca 03 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8  | SIL | SPA | LMS
Ret | SÃO | COA | FUJ
4 | SHA | BHR |  | 26th  | 6
2016 | Manor | LMP2  | Oreca 05 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8  | SIL | SPA | LMS | NÜR | MEX | COA | FUJ
11 | SHA | BHR | 32nd  | 0.5

Sources:[7][8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Jenkins, Richard. "The World Championship drivers — Where are they now?". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 29 July 2007.
2. ^ Guilmeau, Mickael (8 January 2018). "Que sont-ils devenus ? Shinji Nakano". France Racing (in French). Retrieved 17 December 2018.
3. ^ "Shinji Nakano". crash.net. Archived from the original on 30 April 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
4. ^ Tanaka, Kenichi (1 September 2016). "『DAZN』F1イタリアGPの配信スケジュールが決定。中野信治、中島秀之が登場" ["DAZN" F1 Italian Grand Prix broadcast schedule decided. Shinji Nakano and Hideyuki Nakajima appear]. Motorsport.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
5. ^ "DAZN、F1日本GP全セッションをライブ配信 開幕直前SP、現地鈴鹿から最新情報満載の特別番組も配信" [DAZN to broadcast live all sessions of the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, including a special program just before the opening, packed with the latest information from Suzuka]. The Answer (in Japanese). 15 September 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
6. ^ "片山右京、中野信治、井出有治がテレ朝でF1の裏側を暴露!? 25日深夜放送" [Ukyo Katayama, Shinji Nakano, and Yuji Ide reveal the inside story of F1 on TV Asahi!? Broadcast late at night on the 25th]. Autosport Web (in Japanese). 22 March 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
7. ^ a b "Shinji Nakano". Motor Sport. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
8. ^ a b c "Shinji Nakano Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
9. ^ Small, Steve (2000). "Shinji Nakano". Grand Prix Who's Who (Third ed.). Reading, Berkshire: Travel Publishing. p. 401\. ISBN 978-1-902007-46-5. Retrieved 30 July 2021 – via Internet Archive.
10. ^ "Shinji Nakano – 2000 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
11. ^ "Shinji Nakano – 2001 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
12. ^ "Shinji Nakano – 2002 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
13. ^ "Shinji Nakano – 2003 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
14. ^ "2004 Series Point Ranking". Super GT. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
15. ^ "All-Japan GT Championship - Season 2004". Speedsport Magazine. p. 2. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
16. ^ "Shinji Nakano". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 24 February 2025.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shinji Nakano.

* Shinji Nakano official website
* Shinji Nakano career summary at DriverDB.com

* v
* t
* e

Formula One drivers from Japan

* Hiroshi Fushida (1975)
* Masahiro Hasemi & Masami Kuwashima (1976)
* Kazuyoshi Hoshino & Noritake Takahara (1976–1977)
* Kunimitsu Takahashi (1977)
* Satoru Nakajima (1987–1991)
* Aguri Suzuki (1988–1995)
* Naoki Hattori (1991)
* Ukyo Katayama (1992–1997)
* Toshio Suzuki (1993)
* Hideki Noda (1994)
* Taki Inoue (1994–1995)
* Shinji Nakano (1997–1998)
* Toranosuke Takagi (1998–1999)
* Takuma Sato (2002–2008)
* Yuji Ide (2006)
* Sakon Yamamoto (2006–2007, 2010)
* Kazuki Nakajima (2007–2009)
* Kamui Kobayashi (2009–2012, 2014)
* Yuki Tsunoda (2021–present)

* v
* t
* e

Walker Racing

Years active|

1991–2015

Personnel|

* Derrick Walker

Former drivers|

* Jon Beekhuis
* David Besnard
* Gil de Ferran
* Luis Díaz
* Fredrik Ekblom
* Sarah Fisher
* Christian Fittipaldi
* A. J. Foyt
* Memo Gidley
* Scott Goodyear
* Robby Gordon
* Mike Groff
* Mario Haberfeld
* Naoki Hattori
* Bryan Herta
* Rodolfo Lavín
* Buddy Lazier
* Darren Manning
* Marcus Marshall
* Hiro Matsushita
* Shinji Nakano
* Simon Pagenaud
* Will Power
* Willy T. Ribbs
* Mark Smith
* Alex Tagliani
* Toranosuke Takagi
* Paul Tracy
* Michael Valiante
* Stefan Wilson
* Charles Zwolsman

Partnerships and affiliations|

* Team Australia

* v
* t
* e

Fernández Racing

Years active|

2001–2009

Personnel|

* Adrian Fernández
* Tom Anderson

Former drivers|

* Luis Díaz
* Adrian Fernández
* Mario Haberfeld
* Kosuke Matsuura
* Shinji Nakano
* Max Papis
* Scott Sharp

* v
* t
* e

Beck Motorsports

Years active|

1995-2009

Personnel|

* Greg Beck

Former drivers|

* Richard Antinucci
* Stanton Barrett
* Alex Barron
* Billy Boat
* Robbie Buhl
* Stéphan Grégoire
* Johnny Herbert
* P. J. Jones
* Jaques Lazier
* Arie Luyendyk Jr.
* Hideshi Matsuda
* Robby McGehee
* Shinji Nakano
* Dennis Vitolo
* Roger Yasukawa

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Japan

*[Years]: Participating years
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template