was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 racing driver, the son of Nobuhide Tachi

Nobuhide Tachi

is a former Japanese racing driver, and the co-founder of TOM'S, a Japanese racing team and tuner for Toyota.His son, Shingo was also a racing driver.-Racing career:...

 (舘 信秀), founder and head of TOM's, the motorsport side of Toyota. Tachi raced in British Formula Vauxhall with Rowan Racing in 1994 and 1995 before switching to British Formula 3

British Formula Three Championship

The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...

 in 1996 with a Dallara

Dallara

Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...

-Toyota prepared by Team Magic Racing. He had a good season finishing 2nd in Class B. He returned to race in the Japanese F3 series in 1997 and 1998 finishing 3rd. He also won the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship GT300 Class in 1998.

He was killed the following year when testing a GT500 category Toyota Supra

Toyota Supra

The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica...

 at the TI Circuit

TI Circuit

The Okayama International Circuit is a private motorsport race track in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. TI is abbreviation of "Tanaka International" after the name of the holding company, though the name of the circuit was officially "TI Circuit Aida".The course was built in 1992 as a...

, Okayama, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. There was a technical failure and Shingo failed to slow down for the first corner, crashing into the tyre wall at unabated speed. He suffered massive chest injuries from the steering wheel and died an hour later.