Takahiro Ueno
Takahiro Ueno (上野高広, Ueno Takahiro, born 5 November 1971, Hokkaido) is a Japanese professional drifting driver and businessman, the former, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Car Make T&E.
| Takahiro Ueno | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Japan |
| Born | November 5, 1971 Hokkaido, Japan |
| D1 Grand Prix career | |
| Debut season | 2001 |
| Current team | TEAM VERTEX SAILUN TIRE |
| Wins | 1 |
| Best finish | 3rd in 2001 |
| Previous series | |
| (previous series with line breaks) | |
| Championship titles | |
| (championship titles) | |
He started out with a love for the Toyota Soarer JZZ30 and driving, and has turned it into a huge success. Starting his Tuning shop Car Make T&E in October 1996, it has gone from strength to strength, now being recognised as one of the best in Japan. Founding the aero part branch, Vertex on the philosophy of simplicity and elegance, he personally approves every new design. Most of the company's time when it was starting out was spent on developing the Toyota Soarer JZZ30 and this still continues today, using the D1 Grand Prix as a showcase.
He began competing in the D1 Grand Prix in his Toyota Soarer JZZ30 in the first round in 2001. He instantly made an impression showing great skill in the control of such a heavy car as the Soarer. Going on to win round 4 of the season and finishing in third overall in the championship. He has gone on to score points in every year since, though has never quite matched his original success.
From 2009 to 2015, he had used BMW M3 (E92).
In 2016, celebrated the 20th anniversary of Car Make T&E, he started using Toyota Soarer JZZ30 again.
Currently he has been competing in the D1GP, driving Lexus RC since 2019.
Complete Drifting Results
| Colour | Result |
|---|---|
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | Last 4 [Semi-final] |
| Blue | Last 8 [Quarter-final] |
| Purple | Last 16 (16) [1st Tsuiou Round OR Tandem Battle] (Numbers are given to indicate Top 10 finish) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) (Given to indicate that the driver has been stripped of their position through disqualification) |
| White | First Round (TAN) [Tansou OR Qualifying Single Runs] |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
- When driver's position are highlighted in blue, this indicates either the driver earned 100pt or 100pt tansou (solo run) bonus has been awarded, with the latter being in use for Pre-2005.
D1 Grand Prix
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | EBS 2 |
NIK 4 |
BHH TAN |
EBS 1 |
NIK TAN |
3 | 52 | |||
| 2002 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | BHH TAN |
EBS 5 |
SGO TAN |
TKB DNQ |
EBS TAN |
SEK TAN |
NIK 16 |
24 | 12 | |
| 2003 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | TKB 9 |
BHH TAN |
SGO TAN |
FUJ TAN |
EBS DNQ |
SEK DNQ |
TKB DNQ |
22 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | IRW DNQ |
SGO 7 |
EBS 16 |
APS TAN |
ODB DNQ |
EBS TAN |
TKB 5 |
11 | 20 | |
| 2005 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | IRW 3 |
ODB TAN |
SGO TAN |
APS 16 |
EBS DNQ |
FUJ DNQ |
TKB 16 |
15 | 18 | |
| 2006 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | IRW 8 |
SGO 10 |
FUJ TAN |
APS TAN |
EBS TAN |
SUZ TAN |
FUJ 16 |
IRW |
22 | 10 |
| 2007 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | EBS 10 |
FUJ 15 |
SUZ TAN |
SGO 11 |
EBS TAN |
APS 2 |
FUJ 9 |
11 | 29 | |
| 2008 | Car Make T&E | Toyota Soarer JZZ30 | EBS 5 |
FUJ 10 |
SUZ 7 |
OKY 10 |
APS 13 |
EBS |
FUJ |
9 | 43 |