Between 2002 and 2004 he made four wild card appearances in his home country in the 250cc World Championship, finishing in the top five in all four.

He ended up in fifth place in the final standings: his best performance since starting to compete in the World Championship.

Takahashi struggled early in the season, with a best finish of twelfth at the Circuit de Catalunya.

On 1 July 2009 it was announced that the Scot Honda team would be terminating Takahashi's contract with immediate effect due to financial constraints.

He remained in Moto2 for 2013 and joined IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia, ran by Tadayuki Okada and rode a Moriwaki once again.