is a Japanese race car driver currently competing in the Super GT series. He previously competed in the Formula Nippon and IRL IndyCar Series.
Early career After winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2000, Matsuura attracted the attention of former Formula One driver Aguri Suzuki as a teenager and was placed into Suzuki's driver development program, the ARTA Project. He went on to finish second in the 2002 German Formula Three Championship winning two races and finished third in the 2003 European Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, winning three races before replacing Roger Yasukawa at Super Aguri Fernandez Racing in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 2004.
IRL IndyCar Series
In 2004, Matsuura was the Bombardier Rookie of the Year, finishing fourteenth in points. He was also the 2004 Bank One Rookie of the Year for the 2004 Indianapolis 500.
In 2005, Matsuura again drove for Super Aguri Fernandez Racing, and again finished fourteenth in the Championship with a best place finish of 6th in the two road course races. He continued with the team in 2006 and finished a career best thirteenth in points with a best finish of 6th.
For 2007, Autobacs Racing Team Aguri switched allegiance to Panther Racing, teaming Matsuura with Vítor Meira.
During the 2007 IndyCar Series season, Matsuura retired from six of the first eleven races and finished no better than eighth in the others. His struggles prompted speculation from media and fans that he might be dropped by Panther Racing, culminating on July 20, 2007, when Speed TV posted an article on its website stating that Matsuura would be immediately replaced by Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Indy Pro Series driver Hideki Mutoh. While the report was incorrectMutoh gets an IndyCar (in September), Retrieved August 5, 2007 and the article has since been removed,So Long Kosuke , Retrieved August 5, 2007 it did little to stop speculation that Matsuura would be replaced following the 2007 season.
On August 5, 2007, Matsuura matched a career best with a fourth place finish at the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan. This prompted Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network play-by-play Mike King to suggest that the finish may help him stay in IndyCar Series for the 2008 season. The finish, however, only came in the aftermath of his avoiding a major back straightaway incident involving most of the front half of the field.
For 2008, after longtime sponsors Panasonic switched their sponsorship to Hideki Mutoh of the Andretti Green Racing team in the IndyCar Series, Matsuura returned to Japan to compete in the Formula Nippon Series.
In August 2009, Conquest Racing announced that Matsuura would drive for them at the 2009 Indy Japan 300 in a car sponsored by CLICK Securities Inc.Matsuura to race in Japan , Indianapolis Star, August 4, 2009 Matsuura finished seventeenth for the part-time team.
Motorsports career results
American Open-Wheel racing results (key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
IndyCar Series Year Team No. Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Rank Points Ref 2004 Super Aguri Fernandez Racing 55 G-Force GF09B Honda HI4R V8 HMSPHXMOTINDYTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYPPINZRCHIFONTX2 14th 280 2005 Panoz GF09C Honda HI5R V8HMSPHXSTPMOTINDYTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYPPISNMCHIWGLFON 14th 320 2006 Dallara IR-05 Honda HI6R V8HMSSTPMOTINDYWGLTXSRIRKANNSHMILMISKTYSNMCHI 13th 273 2007 Aguri Panther Racing Honda HI7R V8HMSSTPMOTKANINDYMILTXSIOWRIRWGLNSHMDOMISKTYSNMDETCHI 16th 303 2009 Conquest Racing 34STPLBHKANINDYMILTXSIOWRIRWGLTOREDMKTYMDOSNMCHIMOTHMS 36th 13
Years Teams Races Poles Wins Podiums(non-win) Top 10s(non-podium) Indianapolis 500 wins Championships53650002200
Indianapolis 500 Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team 2004 G-Force Honda911 Super Aguri Fernandez Racing 2005 Panoz Honda817 Super Aguri Fernandez Racing 2006 Dallara Honda715 Super Aguri Fernandez Racing 2007 Dallara Honda1716 Super Aguri/Panther
Complete Formula Nippon 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 DC Points 2008 Dandelion Racing FUJ SUZ MOT OKA SUZ1 SUZ2 MOT1 MOT2 FUJ1 FUJ2 SUG 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 GT500SUZOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZMOTAUTFUJ19th19 2009Team Kunimitsu Honda NSX GT500OKASUZFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOT17th5 2010 apr Toyota Corolla Axio GT300SUZOKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJMOT10th22 2011 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri ASL Garaiya GT300OKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOT12th26 2012 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri ASL Garaiya GT300OKAFUJSEPSUGSUZFUJAUTMOT9th33 2013 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda HSV-010 GT GT500 OKA FUJ SEP SUG SUZ FUJ AUT MOT 11th 31 2014 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX-GT GT500 OKA FUJ AUT SUG FUJ SUZ BUR MOT 16th 14 2015 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX-GT GT500 OKA FUJ CHA FUJ SUZ SUG AUT MOT 14th 10 2016 Autobacs Racing Team Aguri Honda NSX-GT GT500 OKA FUJ SUG FUJ SUZ CHA MOT MOT 16th 16 2017 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX-GT GT500 OKA FUJ AUT SUG FUJ SUZ BUR MOT 11th 32 2018 Nakajima Racing Honda NSX-GT GT500 OKA FUJ SUZ BUR FUJ SUG AUT MOT 19th 4 2019 Team UpGarage Honda NSX GT3 Evo GT300 OKA FUJ SUZ CHA FUJ SUG AUT MOT 22nd 13 2020 Team UpGarage Honda NSX GT3 Evo GT300 FUJ 1 FUJ 2 SUZ 1 MOT 1 FUJ 3 SUZ 2 MOT 2 FUJ 415th15 2021 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300OKA21FSW15TRMRetSUZ16 SUG4AUT25TRMRetFSW1520th8 2022 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300OKA8FSW12SUZ16FSW8SUZ9SUG19AUT11TRM215th23 2023 JLOC Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo GT300OKA7FSWRetSUZ23FSW16SUZ2SUG19AUT19TRM2114th19
References
External links
Kosuke Matsuura official website
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