Jason Tahincioğlu

Turkish-British auto racing driver

Jason Tahincioglu
NationalityTurkey Turkish
Born (1983-10-29) 29 October 1983 (age 40)
Bristol (United Kingdom)
Related toMümtaz Tahincioğlu, Ann Tahincioğlu
GP2 Series career
Debut season2006
Current teamPetrol Ofisi FMS International
Car number10
Starts40
Wins0
Poles0
Fastest laps0
Best finish30th in 2006
Previous series
2003–2005
2006
2006–2007
2008
British Formula Renault
World Series by Renault
Euroseries 3000
GP2 Asia

Jason Tahincioğlu (pronounced [tahindʒioːɫu]; born 29 October 1983 in Bristol, United Kingdom), also known as Jason Tahinci, is a Turkish-British auto racing driver born into a car racing family.

Career

Tahincioğlu started driving mini karts at the age of six. In 1990, he debuted in kart racing. From 1991 on, he became champion in mini-kart racing for four successive years. Tahincioğlu moved up then in 1995 to the Promo kart series and became second after his elder sister Raina Tahincioğlu. The next year, he went to the Netherlands to participate in the championships there and became 5th among 24 drivers. Returning to Turkey, Tahincioğlu became champion in the Promo series in 1997 and 1998. During this time, he also participated in the European Junior Championships. He moved to the Super kart category and became champion in 1999 and 2000. Tahincioğlu ended his kart racing career with 8 Turkish championship titles.[1]

Tahincioğlu experienced the taste of driving a Formula Three racing car for the first time on his birthday in 1998, a gift from his father Mümtaz Tahincioğlu, long-time president of Turkish Motorsports Federation (TOSFED) and FIA Council Member.[2] In 2000, he debuted in the Turkish Formula Three Championship and finished in second place. In 2001, he did not race in order to finish high school. From 2002, he competed in the British Formula Renault[1][3] championship finishing 20th in 2005. In August 2005, Tahincioğlu became the first ever Turkish racer to drive a Formula One car when he completed test runs for Jordan Grand Prix on a Toyota TF105 at the Silverstone Circuit.[2]

In 2006, Tahincioğlu became the teammate of Luca Filippi in the GP2 team FMS International, with the Turkish gasoline company Petrol Ofisi named as their new sponsor at the same time. He signed a two-year deal with the team, matching the sponsorship deal made as a part of Petrol Ofisi's backing extension.[4] Despite scoring no points, he was retained for the second year of his contract in 2007. In 2006 he also raced in the Turkish leg of the World Series by Renault. He competed in both races in the 3.5 class.

For the 2008 season, he competed for the BCN Competicion team in the GP2 Asia Series.[5] In the same year, he was also a test driver for the Galatasaray team in the inaugural Superleague Formula season, having revealed he was a lifelong fan of Galatasaray.[6]

Tahincioğlu was educated in automotive engineering at the University of Bath in England.[1][7]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2002 British Formula Three Championship Fred Goddard Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC
2003 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Mark Burdett Motorsport 17 0 0 0 0 49 21st
2004 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Team JLR 20 0 0 0 0 53 27th
2005 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship Team JLR 14 0 0 0 0 66 20th
Team AKA 6 0 0 0 0
1000 km of Istanbul – LMP1 Jota Sport 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2006 GP2 Series Petrol Ofisi FMS International 22 0 0 0 0 0 30th
Formula Renault 3.5 Series Eurointernational 2 0 0 0 0 0 40th
Euroseries 3000 Team Astromega 3 0 0 0 0 4 14th
2007 GP2 Series Petrol Ofisi FMS International 22 0 0 0 0 0 33rd
Euroseries 3000 Eurointernational 4 0 0 0 1 9 13th
2008 GP2 Asia Series BCN Competición 10 0 0 0 0 0 22nd
Superleague Formula Galatasaray S.K. Test driver

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 DC Points
2006 Petrol Ofisi FMS International VAL
FEA
Ret
VAL
SPR
Ret
IMO
FEA
Ret
IMO
SPR
Ret
NÜR
FEA
DNS
NÜR
SPR
18
CAT
FEA
15
CAT
SPR
19
MON
FEA
Ret
SIL
FEA
13
SIL
SPR
16
MAG
FEA
Ret
MAG
SPR
17
HOC
FEA
17
HOC
SPR
17
HUN
FEA
Ret
HUN
SPR
14
IST
FEA
17
IST
SPR
17
MNZ
FEA
11
MNZ
SPR
13
30th 0
2007 Petrol Ofisi FMS International BHR
FEA
Ret
BHR
SPR
13
CAT
FEA
DNS
CAT
SPR
Ret
MON
FEA
Ret
MAG
FEA
15
MAG
SPR
18
SIL
FEA
19
SIL
SPR
16
NÜR
FEA
17
NÜR
SPR
19
HUN
FEA
Ret
HUN
SPR
11
IST
FEA
14
IST
SPR
Ret
MNZ
FEA
11
MNZ
SPR
20
SPA
FEA
14
SPA
SPR
20
VAL
FEA
13
VAL
SPR
Ret
33rd 0

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points
2008 BCN Competición DUB
FEA
19
DUB
SPR
16
SEN
FEA
Ret
SEN
SPR
17
SEP
FEA
12
SEP
SPR
Ret
BHR
FEA
17
BHR
SPR
13
DUB
FEA
9
DUB
SPR
8
22nd 0

References

  1. ^ a b c Soykan, Timur (19 August 2003). "Doğuştan 'Formula'cı". Radikal (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 30 January 2005. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b Zabcı, Faruk (10 August 2005). "F1'in ilk Türk test pilotu". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. ^ "İşte bizim Schumi". Sabah (in Turkish). 22 November 2002. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  4. ^ "Tahinci graduates with FMS". Crash (website). 14 February 2006. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  5. ^ "Jason Tahincioğlu, Competicion'la anlaştı". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 18 January 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  6. ^ "Yarış Arabamızın Testleri Başladı!" (in Turkish). Galatasaray Spor Kulübü. 20 July 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Press Release-17 August 2005 Student on work placement to become first Turkish Formula One racing car driver". University of Bath. Retrieved 21 September 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jason Tahincioğlu.
  • Jason Tahinci at GP2 in Eurosport[permanent dead link]
  • Jason Tahinci at GP2 Series