Red marquis at 05:12, 7 July 2010

2010-07-07T05:12:53Z

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{{Infobox F1 driver|
Image = Satoru Nakajima 2008 Motorsport Japan.jpg |
Caption = In 2008, as the chairman of [[Formula Nippon]] |
Name = Satoru Nakajima |
Nationality = {{flagicon|Japan}} Japanese |
Years = {{F1|1987}} - {{F1|1991}} |
Team(s) = [[Team Lotus|Lotus]], [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] |
Races = 80 (74 starts) |
Championships = 0 |
Wins = 0 |
Points = 16 |
Podiums = 0 |
Poles = 0 |
Fastest laps = 1 |
First race = [[1987 Brazilian Grand Prix]] |
First win = |
Last win = |
Last race = [[1991 Australian Grand Prix]] |
}}
'''Satoru Nakajima''' (Japanese name: 中嶋悟 ; born February 23, 1953<ref name="WATN">{{cite web |url=http://www.oldracingcars.com/driver/Satoru_Nakajima |title= The World Championship drivers - Where are they now? |accessdate=2007-07-29 |last=Jenkins |first=Richard |publisher=OldRacingCars.com}}</ref>) is a former [[racing driver]] from Japan.

==Career==
Nakajima was born into a farming family living just outside Okazaki, Japan. He began driving cars in his early teens in the family's garden with his older brother giving him tips, careful that they were not caught by their father. He felt a great deal of exhilaration behind the wheel of a car, and from then on knew what he wanted to do.

He started racing after he finished school and passed his driver's licence. In 1973 he was a rookie in the [[Suzuka Circuit]] series, which he won. Five years later, he won his first race in Japanese [[Formula 2]]. In 1981 he won his first championship, thus beginning a period of domination in the series. He won five of the next six championships, all of them using a [[Honda]] V6.

Nakajima participated in 80 [[Formula One]] Grands Prix, debuting in the [[1987 Brazilian Grand Prix|Brazilian Grand Prix]] on April 12, 1987, bringing [[Honda Racing F1|Honda]] engines to the [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] team . He was 34 years old in his début race, making him one of F1's oldest débutantes of the modern era. He finished 6th, and so scored a point, in only his second race, the [[1987 San Marino Grand Prix]].

Honda left the Lotus garage after the 1988 season, leaving Nakajima and team-mate [[Nelson Piquet]] driving the [[Judd (engine)|Judd]]-powered 101. The pair had a very up-and-down season, with both failing to qualify for the [[1989 Belgian Grand Prix]], the first time in their 30-year history that Lotus had failed to make the grid, symbolically heralding the beginning of the end for the British team. A great upside to Nakajima's 1989 was a 4th place and [[fastest lap]] in the rain-soaked [[1989 Australian Grand Prix|Australian Grand Prix]], scoring his only points of the year and also equalling his best career finish, from the [[1987 British Grand Prix]].

Nakajima joined the [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] team for the [[1990 Formula One season|1990 season]], followed by Honda engines the next year. He raced for them for two uneventful years at the back of the pack before ending his career. Honda left F1 a year later to lay the first bricks on a works team, one that they had been working on during the F1 season, and that CEO Nobuhiko Kawamoto finally admitted to in October. The car, the Honda RC100 was unveiled to the media in February 1993, driven by Nakajima. Shortly afterwards, it passed [[Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile|FISA]] crash tests, meaning that the company could enter their team into F1 competition. In an attempt to improve on their previous [[chassis]], Honda built two more, the RC101 and 101B, the latter intended to be used for racing purposes, the former for crash testing. Nakajima had the first public testing of the 101B in Suzuka in January 1994. The company decided against entering its own cars in F1 at this time, instead opting to further their engine development in America with [[CART]], and later, the [[Indy Racing League|IRL]].

Nakajima still lives in the family home near Okazaki. He owns the [[Nakajima Racing]] entry in Japanese [[Formula 3000]], or [[Formula Nippon]]. Nakajima drivers have won the [[Formula Nippon]] championship three times, [[Tom Coronel]] doing so in 1999, [[Toranosuke Takagi]] in 2000, and [[Ralph Firman]] in 2002. Nakajima's current drivers are [[Takashi Kogure]] and [[Andre Lotterer]], who finished 2nd in the 2004 championship, although he was tied in points with champion [[Richard Lyons]]. Nakajima's son, [[Kazuki Nakajima|Kazuki]], is currently signed to [[Stefan GP]], despite the team not having an entry in the [[2010 Formula One Season]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Rencken|first=Dieter|coauthors=Elizalde, Pablo|title=Stefan GP fires up Formula 1 car|publisher=[[Haymarket Group|Haymarket Publications]]|work=autosport.com|url=http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81593|date=2010-02-19|accessdate=2010-02-19}}</ref>. Kazuki previously raced for [[Williams F1]], but his contract was not renewed at the end of the [[2009 Formula One Season|2009 Season]]<ref name="confirmedStefan">{{cite news| title =Double R sign Daisuke Nakajima| publisher =autosport.com| url =http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73452| date =2009-02-27| accessdate =2009-03-04}}</ref> Nakajima is currently signed to drive for F1 hopefuls [[Stefan GP]], and was confirmed on February 19, 2010 by team boss [[Zoran Stefanovic]] despite the team not having an entry for the championship.</ref>. Kazuki Nakajima made his F1 début at the [[2007 Brazilian Grand Prix]] following the retirement of regular driver [[Alexander Wurz]].<ref>{{cite news| title =Williams confirm Nakajima for Brazil| publisher =autosport.com| url =http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63168| date =2007-10-09| accessdate =2007-10-09}}</ref> Satoru's younger son, [[Daisuke Nakajima|Daisuke]], is also a racing driver. He competed in the [[British Formula Three Championship]] for [[2009 British Formula Three season|2009]].<ref name="confirmedStefan"/>

==Related video games==
===Sponsored===
* F1 Grand Prix: Nakajima Satoru (Sega Mega Drive - 1991)
* F1 Hero Mega Drive (Sega Mega Drive - 1992)
* F1 Super License: Nakajima Satoru (Sega Mega Drive - 1992)
* Nakajima Satoru Super F-1 Hero (Super Famicom - 1992)
* Colin McRae Rally (European cartridge version for the NES)

===Appeared in===
* F1 Circus MD (Sega Mega Drive)
* Fastest 1 (Sega Mega Drive) as ''S. Inakajima''
* Formula One: Built to Win (Nintendo Entertainment System) as ''S.Nakazima''
* Human Grand Prix II (Super Famicom)
* Human Grand Prix III: F1 Triple Battle (Super Famicom)
* Human Grand Prix IV: F1 Dream Battle (Super Famicom)

==Complete Formula One results==
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]]) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! WDC
! Points
|-
| [[1987 Formula One season|1987]]
! [[Camel (cigarette)|Camel]] [[Team Lotus|Team Lotus Honda]]
! [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 99T|99T]]
! [[Honda Racing F1|Honda]] [[V6 engine|V6]]
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]] 7
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1987 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]] 6
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1987 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] 5
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] 10
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1987 Detroit Grand Prix|DET]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 French Grand Prix|FRA]] NC
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1987 British Grand Prix|GBR]] 4
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1987 German Grand Prix|GER]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1987 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 Austrian Grand Prix|AUT]] 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]] 11
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]] 8
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1987 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]] 9
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1987 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1987 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]] 6
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1987 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]] Ret
! 12th
! 7
|-
| [[1988 Formula One season|1988]]
! [[Camel (cigarette)|Camel]] [[Team Lotus|Team Lotus Honda]]
! [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 100T|100T]]
! [[Honda Racing F1|Honda]] [[V6 engine|V6]]
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1988 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]] 6
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]] 8
|bgcolor="#FFCFCF"| [[1988 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] DNQ
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1988 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]] 11
|bgcolor="#FFCFCF"| [[1988 Detroit Grand Prix|DET]] DNQ
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 French Grand Prix|FRA]] 7
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 British Grand Prix|GBR]] 10
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 German Grand Prix|GER]] 9
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]] 7
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1988 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1988 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1988 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1988 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1988 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]] 7
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1988 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]] Ret
! 16th
! 1
|-
| [[1989 Formula One season|1989]]
! [[Camel (cigarette)|Camel]] [[Team Lotus]]
! [[Team Lotus|Lotus]] [[Lotus 101|101]]
! [[Judd (engine)|Judd]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1989 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]] 8
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1989 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]] NC
|bgcolor="#FFCFCF"| [[1989 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] DNQ
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 United States Grand Prix|USA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#FFCFCF"| [[1989 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]] DNQ
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 French Grand Prix|FRA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1989 British Grand Prix|GBR]] 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 German Grand Prix|GER]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]] Ret
|bgcolor="#FFCFCF"| [[1989 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] DNQ
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1989 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]] 10
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1989 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]] 7
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1989 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]] Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ''[[1989 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]'' 4
! 21st
! 3
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[1990 Formula One season|1990]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell Racing Organisation]]
! [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] [[Tyrrell 018|018]]
! rowspan="2" | [[Cosworth]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1990 United States Grand Prix|USA]] 6
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1990 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]] 8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
! rowspan="2" | 15th
! rowspan="2" | 3
|-
! [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] [[Tyrrell 019|019]]
|
|
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1990 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]] 11
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 French Grand Prix|FRA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 British Grand Prix|GBR]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 German Grand Prix|GER]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1990 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]] 6
|bgcolor="white"| [[1990 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]] DNS
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]] Ret
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1990 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]] 6
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1990 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]] Ret
|-
| [[1991 Formula One season|1991]]
! [[Braun (company)|Braun]] [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell Honda]]
! [[Tyrrell Racing|Tyrrell]] [[Tyrrell 020|020]]
! [[Honda Racing F1|Honda]] [[V10 engine|V10]]
|bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| [[1991 United States Grand Prix|USA]] 5
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1991 Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]] 10
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1991 Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] 12
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 French Grand Prix|FRA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1991 British Grand Prix|GBR]] 8
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 German Grand Prix|GER]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1991 Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]] 15
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]] Ret
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1991 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]] 13
|bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| [[1991 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]] 17
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]] Ret
|bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| [[1991 Australian Grand Prix|AUS]] Ret
! 15th
! 2
|}

== External links ==
*[http://www.so-net.ne.jp/nakajimaracing/01top/01top.html Nakajima Racing]

{{start box}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box|title=[[Formula Nippon|Japanese Formula Two]] [[Champion]] |before=[[Masahiro Hasemi]]|after=[[Geoff Lees]]|years=1981-1982}}
{{succession box|title=[[Formula Nippon|Japanese Formula Two]] [[Champion]] |before=[[Geoff Lees]]|after=[[Kazuyoshi Hoshino]] (Japanese Formula 3000)|years=1984-1986}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:Japanese racecar drivers]]
[[Category:Japanese Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Lotus Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:European Formula Two Championship drivers]]
[[Category:Japanese Formula Two Championship drivers]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:International Formula 3000 drivers]]

Satoru Nakajima - Revision history

Red marquis at 05:12, 7 July 2010