Kosuke Matsuura
Kosuke Matsuura | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979 Japan |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | Competing in Super GT, Formula Nippon, IndyCar Series |
is a professional Japanese racing driver actively participating in the Super GT championship. His earlier career includes competing in Formula Nippon as well as the IndyCar Series.
Early career
Following his triumph in the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Matsuura became part of the development initiative led by former F1 competitor Aguri Suzuki, known as the ARTA Project. He secured second place in the 2002 German Formula Three Championship with two victories and achieved third place in the 2003 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, where he claimed three wins before stepping in for Roger Yasukawa at Super Aguri Fernandez Racing during the 2004 IndyCar Series season.
IRL IndyCar Series
In 2004, Matsuura was honored with the Bombardier Rookie of the Year award after finishing 14th in the overall standings, additionally earning the title of 2004 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.
Continuing with Super Aguri Fernandez Racing in 2005, he again placed 14th in the championship, achieving a best race result of 6th on road circuits. The following year, 2006, marked his personal best points finish at 13th, maintaining a top placement of 6th during the season.
For the 2007 campaign, ARTA transitioned to Panther Racing, pairing Matsuura alongside Vítor Meira. However, he retired from six of the initial eleven events and did not surpass an 8th place finish in other races. Speculation emerged regarding a possible replacement by ARTA Indy Pro Series driver Hideki Mutoh, though early reports were later proven inaccurate.
On August 5, 2007, Matsuura equaled his best career finish by placing 4th at the Firestone Indy 400 held at Michigan International Speedway. Despite this achievement, it did not guarantee his continuation in IndyCar.
With his long-term sponsor Panasonic redirecting support to Mutoh at Andretti Green Racing for the 2008 season, Matsuura returned to Japan to compete once more in Formula Nippon.
In August 2009, Conquest Racing brought Matsuura on board for the Indy Japan 300 event backed by sponsorship from CLICK Securities Inc. He completed the race in 17th position for this part-time engagement.
American Open-Wheel racing results
(key) (Races shown in italics denote fastest lap)
IndyCar Series
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Super Aguri Fernandez Racing | G-Force GF09B | 55 | Honda HI4R V8 | HMS 11 |
PHX 11 |
MOT 8 |
INDY 11 |
TXS 16 |
RIR 14 |
KAN 18 |
NSH 9 |
MIL 10 |
MIS 17 |
KTY 4 |
PPI 13 |
NZR 21 |
CHI 21 |
FON 13 |
TX2 19 |
14th | 280 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Panoz GF09C | Honda HI5R V8 | HMS 12 |
PHX 10 |
STP 13 |
MOT 9 |
INDY 17 |
TXS 7 |
'RIR' 9 |
KAN 20 |
NSH 14 |
MIL 11 |
MIS 16 |
KTY 8 |
PPI 13 |
SNM 6 |
CHI 23 |
WGL 6 |
FON 19 |
" style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " |14th |
" style = " background : # CFCFFF ; " |320 |
"- |
" 2006 |
rowspan=3 | Dallara IR-05 |
HMS 6 |
STP 7 |
MOT 7 |
INDY 15 |
WGL 18 |
TXS 8 |
RIR 12 |
KAN 8 |
NSH 13 |
MIL 17 |
" style = " background : # CFEAFF ; "'MIS' 9 |
" style = " background : # EFCFFF ; "'KTY' 19 |
" style = " background : # CFCFFF ; "'SNM' 13 |
" style = " background : # CFCFFF ; "'CHI' 11 |
" style = " background : # CFCFFF ; "' 13th |
" style = " background : # CFCFFF ; "' 273 |
"- |
" 2007 | HMS 16 |
STP 17 |
MOT 18 |
KAN 18 |
INDY 16 |
MIL 11 |
TXS 9 |
IOW 15 |
RIR 17 |
WGL 8 |
NSH 16 |
MDO 12 |
MIS 4 |
KTY 11 |
SNM 10 |
DET 5 |
2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 CHI < br> { { Small | 17 } } |
" Style= Background: #cfcfff; "|16th |
" Style= Background: #cfcfff; "|303 |
"- |
" 2009 IndyCar Series season |
34 |
36th | 13 |
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (non-win) | Top 10s (non-podium) | Indianapolis 500 wins | Championships |
|---|
Indianapolis 500
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | G-Force | Honda | 9 | 11 | Super Aguri Fernandez Racing |
| 2005 | Panoz | Honda | 8 | 17 | Super Aguri Fernandez Racing |
| 2006 | Dallara | Honda | 7 | 15 | Super Aguri Fernandez Racing |
| 2007 | Dallara | Honda | 17 | 16 | Super Aguri/Panther |
Complete Formula Nippon Results
(key) (Races in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dandelion Racing | FUJ 12 |
SUZ 16 |
MOT 12 |
OKA 13 |
SUZ1 9 |
SUZ2 Ret |
MOT1 10 |
MOT2 6 |
FUJ1 8 |
FUJ2 1 |
SUG 13 |
18th | 3.5 |
Complete Super GT results
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Pts |
|---|
| 2008 | Team Kunimitsu | Honda NSX | GT500 |
style="background:#DFDFDF;" | SUZ |
19th 19 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Team Kunimitsu | Honda NSX | GT500 |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | FUJ |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | AUT |
17th 5 | ||||||
| 2010 | apr | Toyota Corolla Axio | GT300 |
style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SUZ |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | OKA |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | FUJ |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SEP |
style="background:#FFDF9F;" | SUG |
style="background:#EFCFFF;" | SUZ |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | MOT |
10th 22 | |
| 2011 | Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | [ASL Garaiya]] | GT300 |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | OKA |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | FUJ |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | SEP |
style="background:#FFDF9F;" | SUG |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | SUZ |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | FUJ |
style="background:#CFCFFF;" | AUT |
style="background:#DFFFDF;" | MOT |
12th 26 |- ... [Table continues with similar compressed format for subsequent years] |
External links
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1979 births
- Living people
- Japanese racing drivers
- Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year
- Indianapolis 500 drivers
- IndyCar Series drivers
- Formula Renault V6 Eurocup drivers
- Formula Nippon drivers
- German Formula Three Championship drivers
- Super GT drivers
- Karting World Championship drivers
- Japanese IndyCar Series drivers
- Prema Powerteam drivers
- Dandelion Racing drivers
- Conquest Racing drivers
- Panther Racing drivers
- Nakajima Racing drivers
- Signature Team drivers
- Team Kunimitsu drivers
- Team Aguri drivers