Aguri
Suzuki

Aguri Suzuki was born in Tokyo on 8 September 1960. He started karting in 1972 at the age of twelve and was Japanese kart champion in 1978 and 1981. He made his Japanese Formula 3 debut in 1979 and finished second in that series in 1983. In 1986 he won the Japanese touring car title with the Nissan works team and took part in the Le Mans 24 Hours. He was runner-up in Japanese Formula 3000 in 1987 and took the title in 1988 in a March-Yamaha, winning three races.

In 1988 Suzuki raced in European Formula 3000 with Footwork before making his Formula One debut at his home race in Japan on 30 October, standing in for Yannick Dalmas in the Larrousse-Lola. In 1989 he drove for Zakspeed but failed to pre-qualify at all 16 races. He returned to the Lola in 1990, started every race and finished twelfth in the World Championship. At the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka he came third, becoming the first Asian driver to stand on a Formula One podium. In 1991 he made 12 starts and ended the year 18th in the standings.

Suzuki drove for Footwork in 1992 and 1993, first alongside Michele Alboreto and then Derek Warwick. In 1994 he took part in one race for Jordan. In 1995 he shared a Ligier seat with Martin Brundle and started five of the six rounds he was entered for. After a serious crash in practice for the 1995 Japanese Grand Prix he did not take part in the race and announced his retirement. In total he had 88 entries and 65 starts, and his podium in Suzuka remained his only one.

Afterwards Suzuki raced in the All-Japan GT Championship, where he was a race winner. In 1998 he finished third overall at the Le Mans 24 Hours. As a team owner he founded ARTA together with Autobacs, a team that competed mainly in Super GT and won titles in both the GT500 and GT300 classes. His Super Aguri team took part in Formula One from 2006 to 2008. In 2007 Takuma Sato scored its first points and the team finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship. It withdrew after four races in 2008. Team Aguri, which he founded, raced in Formula E from 2014 to 2016.

Source: Wikipedia, “Aguri Suzuki”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.