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Aguri Suzuki | |
|---|---|
鈴木 亜久里 | |
 Suzuki at Super GT Malaysia Round in 2025 | |
| Born | (1960-09-08)8 September 1960 (age 65) Tokyo, Japan |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Active years | 1988–1995 |
| Teams | Larrousse,Zakspeed,Footwork,Jordan,Ligier |
| Entries | 88 (65 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Careerpoints | 8 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1988 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1995 Japanese Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1986–1988,1990,1996–1999 |
| Teams | Nissan,Toyota |
| Best finish | 3rd(1998) |
| Class wins | 0 |
Aguri Suzuki (Japanese:鈴木 亜久里,Hepburn:Suzuki Aguri; born 8 September 1960) is a Japanese formerracing driver andmotorsport executive, who competed inFormula One from1988 to1995.
Suzuki entered 88Formula One Grands Prix, achieving a best result of third at the1990 Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the first Asian driver to score a podium finish. He also won theJapanese Formula 3000 Championship in1988, and later finished third overall at the24 Hours of Le Mans in1998. He was also a race-winner in theAll-Japan GT Championship.
Suzuki became involved in team ownership after his Formula One career, first formingAutobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA) in 1997 in partnership withAutobacs. ARTA has competed mostly inSuper GT, where they have won titles in both the GT500 and GT300 classes. He was the owner of theSuper Aguri F1 team, which participated in Formula One from2006 to2008. He also formedTeam Aguri, which raced inFormula E from 2014 to 2016.
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Suzuki was born in Tokyo; his father Masashi Suzuki was of mixed ancestry from Japan andMartinique. Masashi Suzuki had worked as an aircraft technician forHonda Airways, and in 1973 established a go-cart shop.
Suzuki was named after the main character in theKuri-chan comic strip. He attendedJosai University majoring in the sciences, but did not complete his degree.
Suzuki began racing karts in 1972, at the age of 12. In 1978 he won the Japanese kart championship and in 1979 made his debut in theJapanese Formula Three (All-Japan F3) championship. He continued in karting and in 1981 was again Japanese Kart Champion. In 1983 he finished second in theAll-Japan F3 series, driving a Hayashi-Toyota. He then turned to touring car racing and, driving for theNissan factory team won the Japanese title in 1986. The same year he made his debut inJapanese F2 and drove in theLe Mans 24 Hours. In 1987 he finished runner-up in theJapanese F3000 series, winning one race (Suzuka). In 1988, driving aMarch-Yamaha he won the title with three wins (Fuji, Nishi-Nippon and Suzuka).[citation needed]
In 1988, Suzuki raced inEuropean F3000 withFootwork, before he debuted in Formula One on October 30 at his home race, replacing the illYannick Dalmas in theLarrousse-Lola.Zakspeed, who were usingYamaha engines, hired Suzuki for 1989, but he failed to pre-qualify in all 16 races.
For 1990 and 1991, Suzuki drove again for Larrousse. He finished sixth three times, before finishing third at Suzuka – the first ever podium for an Asian driver in F1. He also set the second-fastest lap.[citation needed]
In 1992 and 1993, Suzuki was at Footwork alongsideMichele Alboreto and thenDerek Warwick, but both usually outperformed him. He shared aLigier withMartin Brundle in 1995, but only scored one point in his races, and was criticised byMika Salo after the two collided in Buenos Aires. A massive crash in practice for the1995 Japanese Grand Prix caused a neck injury which saw him miss the race,[1] and he immediately announced his retirement.
Suzuki scored a total of eight championship points in F1. At the time he retired, he was the second most successfulJapanese F1 driver afterSatoru Nakajima in terms of points scored, butTakuma Sato andKamui Kobayashi have since passed them both.
Suzuki later raced in theAll Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, and remained involved in Japanese driver development. In 2000, with long-term sponsorAutobacs, he ranAutobacs Racing Team Aguri, which won the GT300 title in 2002, and expanded toDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters a season later. He also launchedSuper Aguri Fernandez Racing withAdrian Fernandez, running cars in theIndy Racing League.
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From 2006, Suzuki ran theSuper Aguri F1 Formula One team with the backing ofHonda. He put his new team together in four and half months from his initial announcement on 1 November 2005.[2] The team's initial entry was rejected by theFIA after they failed to secure financial guarantees before the entry deadline, and their acceptance was not formally confirmed until 26 January 2006.[3] The team made its debut at theBahrain Grand Prix on 12 March 2006. In 2007,Takuma Sato scored two top-eight finishes, earning the team its first points, and Super Aguri ended up ninth in the Constructors' World Championship. On 6 May 2008, after competing in the opening four races of the season, the team withdrew from Formula One due to financial problems.[4]
Suzuki's helmet is white with a red line with black sides surrounding the top, a red and black line going from the rear down the chin (forming an A) and a black circle on the top.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | NC Speed | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ | SUZ | FUJ DNS | SUZ 8 | SUZ 10 | 16th | 4 | |
| 1986 | Yura Takuya Racing Team | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ | SUZ 6 | 13th | 6 | |
| 1987 | Footwork Sports Racing Team | SUZ 2 | FUJ 2 | MIN 4 | SUZ 3 | SUZ 2 | SUG Ret | FUJ Ret | SUZ 1 | SUZ 1 | 2nd | 107 |
| 1988 | Footwork Sports Racing Team | SUZ 2 | FUJ 1 | MIN 1 | SUZ 1 | SUG Ret | FUJ 2 | SUZ 2 | SUZ Ret | 1st | 45 |
| Year | Team | Chassis/Engine | Qualifying | Race1 | Race2 | Overall ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Nismo | Ralt・Nissan | 28th | 19 | DNF | DNF |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Nissan Motorsports | Kazuyoshi HoshinoKeiji Matsumoto | Nissan R86V | C1 | 64 | DNF | DNF |
| 1987 | Nissan Motorsports | Masahiro HasemiTakao Wada | Nissan 87E | C1 | 117 | DNF | DNF |
| 1988 | Nissan Motorsports | Kazuyoshi HoshinoTakao Wada | Nissan (March) R88C | C1 | 286 | DNF | DNF |
| 1990 | Toyota TeamTOM'S |  Johnny Dumfries Roberto Ravaglia | Toyota 90C-V | C1 | 64 | DNF | DNF |
| 1996 | NISMO | Masahiko KageyamaMasahiko Kondo | Nissan Skyline GT-R LM | GT1 | 209 | DNF | DNF |
| 1997 | Nissan MotorsportsTWR | Riccardo Patrese Eric van de Poele | Nissan R390 GT1 | GT1 | 121 | DNF | DNF |
| 1998 | Nissan MotorsportsTWR | Kazuyoshi HoshinoMasahiko Kageyama | Nissan R390 GT1 | GT1 | 347 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1999 | Nissan Motorsports | Masami KageyamaEric van de Poele | Nissan R391 | LMP | 0 | DNS | DNS |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Footwork | JER | VAL | PAU 11 | SIL DNQ | MNZ | PER | BRH Ret | BIR | BUG | ZOL | DIJ | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicates fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | DC | pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Toyota Team Tom's | Toyota Corona | AUT 1 9 | AUT 2 5 | SUG 1 | SUG 2 | TOK 1 3 | TOK 2 2 | SUZ 1 5 | SUZ 2 4 | MIN 1 Ret | MIN 2 3 | AID 1 2 | AID 2 2 | TSU 1 3 | TSU 2 DNS | SEN 1 3 | SEN 2 Ret | FUJ 1 5 | FUJ 2 8 | 5th | 102 |
(key)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Nismo Team Zexel | Nissan Skyline GT-R | GT500 | SUZ 4 | FUJ Ret | SEN 7 | FUJ 3 | SUG 5 | MIN 3 | 6th | 46 | |
| 1997 | Nismo | Nissan Skyline GT-R | GT500 | SUZ 1 | FUJ 4 | SEN 2 | FUJ 10 | MIN 9 | SUG 3 | 4th | 60 | |
| 1998 | Nismo | Nissan Skyline GT-R | GT500 | SUZ Ret | FUJ C | SEN 2 | FUJ 7 | MOT 11 | MIN 5 | SUG 9 | 8th | 29 |
| 1999 | Nismo | Nissan Skyline GT-R | GT500 | SUZ 5 | FUJ 11 | SUG 9 | MIN 12 | FUJ 12 | TAI 2 | MOT 2 | 6th | 40 |
| 2000 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | Honda NSX | GT500 | MOT 7 | FUJ Ret | SUG 15 | FUJ 1 | TAI Ret | MIN Ret | SUZ DSQ | 13th | 24 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Japanese Touring Car Championship Champion 1986 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Japanese Formula 3000 Champion 1988 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
