Ide began racing in 1990 through kart competition, winning the Kantou National Cup Kart Championship in 1991. He progressed through junior Japanese formulae and won the Formula Dream series in Japan in 1999. That same year he finished second in the All Japan GT Championship GT300 class. In 2002 he contested the French Formula Three Championship, finishing seventh, and repeated that position in his first Formula Nippon season in 2003. He climbed to third in Formula Nippon in 2004 before finishing runner-up in the 2005 championship.
Ide joined Super Aguri for the 2006 Formula One season at age 31, becoming one of the oldest rookies to enter the sport. The team was pursuing an all-Japanese driver lineup, and Ide's long-standing relationship with team principal Aguri Suzuki contributed to his selection. However, Ide entered the season with only approximately 200 kilometres of experience in a Formula One car.
His debut at Bahrain was troubled; he finished well behind teammate Takuma Sato and failed to complete the race. At Malaysia he retired after 33 laps. At the Australian Grand Prix he was accused of impeding Rubens Barrichello during qualifying, forcing the Brazilian into the first round and starting 16th. Ide finished 13th, two laps down, after a race weekend marked by multiple spins.
The breaking point came at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, where Ide triggered a first-lap collision with Christijan Albers that sent the Dutchman into a series of rolls, leaving his car inverted. Ide was reprimanded by the stewards. Following advice from the FIA that Ide required more experience, Super Aguri dropped him before the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, replacing him with Franck Montagny.
On 10 May 2006, the FIA revoked Ide's Super Licence, ending his Formula One season after just four race starts. His best result was a 13th place at the Australian Grand Prix, his only classified finish. Retrospective analysis has noted that his brief spell in F1 was hampered by minimal testing, a language barrier, and a team in its first season with limited resources.
In July 2006, Ide returned to Formula Nippon with Team Dandelion Racing for the final six rounds of the season to rebuild his experience base. In 2007, he raced in Formula Nippon with the Autobacs Racing Team Aguri (ARTA), team owned by Aguri Suzuki, scoring a best result of third at Suzuka.
Ide raced full-time in Super GT for Team Kunimitsu in 2008 and 2009, and then for ARTA in 2010. His most significant result in this period came at the 2010 Pokka GT Summer Special at Suzuka, which he won outright. He also finished second at the 2008 edition of that event. Ide continued to contest Formula Nippon in 2008 and 2010, though points finishes were limited to three occasions across those seasons.
Ide's Formula One career is remembered primarily as a cautionary example of the risks of placing an underprepared driver in a competitive environment. His subsequent performances in Super GT and Formula Nippon, including the 2010 Suzuka 1000km victory and his 2005 Formula Nippon runner-up season, demonstrate abilities that were not visible during his brief and difficult F1 stint.