Nobuteru Taniguchi:
Nobuteru Taniguchi is one of the most widely recognized motor sports figures in Japan. Best known for his versatile driving ability, Taniguchi has competed in Japan’s premier drift and grip racing series. HKS and Taniguchi have teamed up since 2001, when Taniguchi piloted the HKS D1 Silvia, and won the D1 Grand Prix Series Championship. Taniguchi continued to pilot HKS D1 machines through 2005, but the HKS and Taniguchi tandem did not stop with drifting. Taniguchi’s grip driving skills also placed him behind the wheel of HKS TRB-02 and CT230R Time Attack Mitsubishi Evolutions. Taniguchi’s driving skills and HKS technical prowess combined for an unmatched force in Time Attack. Together they have set numerous track records throughout Japan, including the famed Tsukuba Circuit.
The HKS and Taniguchi combination has not been limited to Japan; in 2005 Taniguchi drove the HKS USA Mitsubishi Evolution in the Car and Driver Super Tuner Challenge. Racing against top US manufacturers and tuners, and premier US racing car drivers, Taniguchi and HKS once again found themselves on the top of the podium beating the nearest competitor by three seconds, and setting the day’s fasted ¼ mile, 0-60, and road course time. In 2006, Taniguchi piloted the HKS-sponsored Speed Source RX-8 in the Grand Am Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. Taniguchi out qualified all the other RX-8s competing, including David Haskell’s #70 Speed Source RX-8; Haskell was the 2005 and 2004 Grand AM ST class champion and in ’05 he won and qualified P1 at Phoenix.
Taniguchi’s passion for racing has allowed him to compete in many different types of racing series, including two of the better known Japanese racing series - Super GT (formerly JGTC) and Super Taikyu. Taniguchi first competed in Japan’s GT series in 2002 driving the RE Amemiya RX-7, and in 2006 drove the direxiv/Enable Vemac, finishing 3rd overall in the GT300 driver’s standings. Taniguchi and long time friend Manabu Orido, raced the Advan Porsche to the 2005 Super Taikyu championship, winning seven races out of eight.
