Kosuke Matsuura (松浦 孝亮, Matsūra Kōsuke, born September 4, 1979) is a Japanese race car driver currently competing in the Super GT series. He previously competed in the Formula Nippon and IRL IndyCar Series.
| Kosuke Matsuura 松浦孝亮 | |
|---|---|
 Matsuura in 2010 | |
| Nationality |  Japanese |
| Born | September 4, 1979 Aichi, Japan |
| IndyCar Series | |
| Years active | 2004-2007, 2009 |
| Teams | Conquest Aguri Panther Aguri Fernandez |
| Starts | 65 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 13th in 2006 |
| Previous series | |
| 2003 2001-2002 2000 | Formula Renault V6 Eurocup German Formula 3 Formula Dream |
| Championship titles | |
| 2000 | Formula Dream |
| Awards | |
| 2004 2004 | IndyCar Rookie of the Year Indy 500 Rookie of the Year |
Early career
editAfter winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Kosuke 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 2nd in the 2002 German Formula Three Championship winning 2 races and finished 3rd in the 2003 European Formula Renault V6 Eurocup, winning 3 races before replacing Roger Yasukawa at Super Aguri Fernandez Racing in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 2004.
IRL IndyCar Series
editIn 2004, he was the Bombardier Rookie of the Year, finishing 14th in points. He was also the 2004 Bank One Rookie of the Year for the 2004 Indianapolis 500.
In 2005, he again drove for Super Aguri Fernandez Racing, and again finished 14th 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 13th 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 6 of the first 11 races and finished no better than 8th 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 incorrect[1] and the article has since been removed,[2] 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 4th-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, Kosuke 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.[3] Matsuura finished 17th for the part-time team.
Motorsports career results
editAmerican Open-Wheel racing results
edit(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
IndyCar Series
edit| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | 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 | 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 | [4] | |
| 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 |
14th | 320 | [5] | ||
| 2006 | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI6R V8 | HMS 6 |
STP 7 |
MOT 7 |
INDY 15 |
WGL 18 |
TXS 8 |
RIR 12 |
KAN 8 |
NSH 13 |
MIL 17 |
MIS 9 |
KTY 19 |
SNM 13 |
CHI 11 |
13th | 273 | [6] | |||||
| 2007 | Panther Racing | Honda HI7R V8 | 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 |
CHI 17 |
16th | 303 | [7] | ||
| 2009 | Conquest Racing | 34 | STP | LBH | KAN | INDY | MIL | TXS | IOW | RIR | WGL | TOR | EDM | KTY | MDO | SNM | CHI | MOT 17 |
HMS | 36th | 13 | [8] |
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (non-win) |
Top 10s (non-podium) |
Indianapolis 500 wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
Indianapolis 500
edit| 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
edit(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 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
editReferences
edit- ^ Mutoh gets an IndyCar (in September), Retrieved August 5, 2007
- ^ So Long Kosuke Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved August 5, 2007
- ^ Matsuura to race in Japan Archived 2009-08-07 at the Wayback Machine, Indianapolis Star, August 4, 2009
- ^ "Kosuke Matsuura – 2004 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Kosuke Matsuura – 2005 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Kosuke Matsuura – 2006 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Kosuke Matsuura – 2007 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ "Kosuke Matsuura – 2009 IndyCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
External links
edit