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Nobuharu Matsushita

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Nobuharu Matsushita
Matsushita in 2015
NationalityJapan Japanese
Born (1993-10-13) 13 October 1993 (age 31)
Saitama, Japan
Super GT career
Debut season2020
Current teamARTA GT500
Car number8
Former teams
Starts39
Wins3
Podiums9
Poles1
Fastest laps0
Best finish4th in 2022
Super Formula career
Debut season2018
Current teamTGM Grand Prix
Car number55
Former teamsB-Max Racing, Dandelion Racing
Starts35
Wins1
Podiums4
Poles1
Fastest laps0
Best finish8th in 2021
Previous series
2017, 2019-20
2015-2016
2015-16
2013–14
2012
2011		FIA F2
GP2 Series
MRF Challenge
All-Japan Formula Three
Formula Challenge Japan
Formula Pilota China
Championship titles
2014
2012		All-Japan Formula Three
Formula Challenge Japan

Nobuharu Matsushita (松下信治, Matsushita Nobuharu, born 13 October 1993) is a Japanese racing driver currently competing in Super GT for ARTA and Super Formula for TGM Grand Prix.

Early career

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Karting

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Born in Saitama, Matsushita began his racing career in karting in 2005, competing the All-Japan Junior Kart Championship. In 2008, he clinched the championship title in the Open Masters Kart ARTA Challenge. He ended his karting participations in 2010, finishing third in the KF1 category of the All Japan Kart Championship.[1]

Formula Pilota China and Formula Challenge Japan

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In 2011, Matsushita graduated to single–seaters into the Formula Pilota China with the Super License team.[2] He missed the Ordos round, but after his returning he showed better performance than in the first part of the season. He won the final race of the season at Sepang and finished the season fourth.[3]

For 2012, he switched to the Formula Challenge Japan mono-series. He scored ten podiums in twelve races, including five wins and took the championship title.[4]

All-Japan Formula Three

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2013

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In 2013, Matsushita stepped up to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship with the HFDP Racing.[5] He collected five podiums and another seven point-scoring finishes, to end the season fifth in the series standings, it was the best result for the Honda driver.[6]

2014

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For the next season he decided to stay in the series with the same team.[7] He was victorious at Motegi, Fuji and Sugo, grabbing the championship title from Kenta Yamashita with a twelve-point gap.[8]

GP2 Series and FIA Formula 2

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2015

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Matsushita in GP2 (Hungary 2015)

Matsushita made his début in the GP2 Series in 2015 with ART Grand Prix.[9] In the first race at Bahrain, he qualified second on the grid opposite teammate Stoffel Vandoorne and finished in the points in both races, setting the fastest lap in the sprint race. At the Red Bull Ring, Matsushita took his first GP2 podium by finishing third in the sprint race. He took his first victory in the sport in the sprint race at the Hungaroring as part of an ART 1–2. He finished 9th in the overall standings.

2016

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In February 2016, it was announced Matsushita would reunite with ART for a second season, alongside fellow 2015 rookie Sergey Sirotkin. Matsushita was suspended for the 4th round of the season in Austria due to erratic driving at the previous event in Baku.[10]

2017

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In 2017, Matsushita competed in the inaugural Formula 2 championship, driving for ART Grand Prix alongside Alexander Albon. He scored his first win in the sprint race in Spain, and his second one during the sprint race in Hungary. He scored two more podiums, in Monaco and in Monza and finished sixth in the final standings, beating Albon by 45 points.

2019

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Matsushita returned to Formula 2 in 2019 with the Carlin team, partnering Louis Delétraz. He won the feature races at the Red Bull Ring and in Monza. He, again, finished 6th in the championship, two positions above his teammate.

2020

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He was announced to drive for MP Motorsport in the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship together with Brazilian Felipe Drugovich. Matsushita announced that he would be leaving the F2 Championship with immediate effect on 22 September 2020.[11]

Formula One

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On 20 February 2016, Matsushita was signed as a development driver for McLaren.[12]

Super Formula and Super GT career

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Super Formula

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In 2018, Matsushita returned to Japan to compete in Super Formula for Honda team Dandelion. He returns to the series in 2020 racing with B-Max Racing, where he replaces Sérgio Sette Câmara who moved to Formula E. He continues racing with B-Max once again, competed from the second round. For 2022, he stays again with the same team. Matsushita clinched his first win of the series in Suzuka. For 2023, Matsushita continues racing with B-Max once again. Matsushita ended his association with B-Max as he moves to TGM Grand Prix last minute.[13]

Super GT

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GT300

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Matsushita made his debut in the Japanese Super GT Series in the last two rounds of the 2020 season, replacing Shinichi Takagi – who had sustained injuries from a crash in a Super Taikyu race – in the Honda NSX GT3 Evo of ARTA in the GT300 class.[14] Driving alongside co-driver Toshiki Oyu, the pair finished the races at Motegi and Fuji Speedway eighth and seventh, respectively. After He left Honda, Matsushita moves to their manufacturer's rival Nissan where he stepped up to GT500 racing with Team Impul alongside Kazuki Hiramine. Both pairs wins their first GT500 race, and clinched 8th in the standings. Matsushita returns to Honda, and moves to Real Racing to partner up with Koudai Tsukakoshi switching with Bertrand Baguette who moves to the other team.

GT500

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For the 2021 season, Matsushita decided to join Nissan in the GT500 class, despite having been a Honda junior throughout his career. He was placed at Team Impul alongside Kazuki Hiramine. The duo won the fifth round at Sportsland Sugo, ending a five year win drought for the Impul team.[15] They nearly also won round seven at Motegi, but Hiramine ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading, although he was able to coast to the finish in third.[16] They finished the season eighth in the championship, the best result for Nissan drivers that year.

Matsushita rejoined Honda as a factory driver and signed with Astemo Real Racing to race with Koudai Tsukakoshi. Matsushita replaced Bertrand Baguette, who went to Team Impul.[17][18] For two seasons, he won only one race in Autopolis 2022.

Matsushita then return to ARTA to race with Tomoki Nojiri.[19]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles FLaps Podiums Points Position
2011 Formula Pilota China Super License 10 1 1 2 4 89 4th
2012 Formula Challenge Japan HFDP with ARTA 12 5 1 5 10 91 1st
2013 Japanese Formula 3 Championship HFDP Racing 15 0 0 0 5 43 5th
2014 Japanese Formula 3 Championship HFDP Racing 15 6 5 5 9 102 1st
2015 GP2 Series ART Grand Prix 22 1 0 1 3 68.5 9th
2015–16 MRF Challenge Formula 2000 MRF Racing 4 2 1 3 2 80 6th
2016 GP2 Series ART Grand Prix 20 1 0 4 2 92 11th
Formula One McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team Development driver
2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship ART Grand Prix 22 2 1 2 4 131 6th
Formula One Sauber F1 Team Development driver
2018 Super Formula Docomo Team Dandelion Racing 6 0 0 0 0 7 11th
2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship Carlin 22 2 1 4 5 144 6th
Euroformula Open Championship 2 0 1 1 1 20 18th
Euroformula Open Winter Series 2 1 1 1 1 27 4th
2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship MP Motorsport 17 1 0 1 1 42 15th
Super GT - GT300 ARTA 2 0 0 0 0 7 23rd
Super Formula Buzz Racing with B-Max 4 0 0 0 1 16 15th
2021 Super GT Team Impul 8 1 0 0 2 45 8th
Super Formula B-Max Racing 6 0 1 0 2 33.5 8th
2022 Super Formula B-Max Racing 10 1 0 0 1 21 13th
Super GT Astemo Real Racing 8 1 0 0 3 60 4th
2023 Super Formula B-Max Racing 9 0 0 0 0 4 19th
Super GT Astemo Real Racing 8 0 0 0 1 45 6th
2024 Super GT ARTA 7 1 1 0 2 43 7th*
Super Formula TGM Grand Prix 3 0 0 0 0 3 15th

* Season still in progress.

Complete GP2 Series/FIA Formula 2 Championship results

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(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 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 DC Points
2015 ART Grand Prix BHR
FEA
10 		BHR
SPR
6 		CAT
FEA
11 		CAT
SPR
18 		MON
FEA
Ret 		MON
SPR
19 		RBR
FEA
4 		RBR
SPR
3 		SIL
FEA
Ret 		SIL
SPR
19 		HUN
FEA
8 		HUN
SPR
1 		SPA
FEA
Ret 		SPA
SPR
15 		MNZ
FEA
Ret 		MNZ
SPR
15 		SOC
FEA
10 		SOC
SPR
7 		BHR
FEA
2 		BHR
SPR
Ret 		YMC
FEA
11 		YMC
SPR
C 		9th 68.5
2016 ART Grand Prix CAT
FEA
11 		CAT
SPR
8 		MON
FEA
8 		MON
SPR
1 		BAK
FEA
6 		BAK
SPR
Ret 		RBR
FEA
EX 		RBR
SPR
EX 		SIL
FEA
6 		SIL
SPR
5 		HUN
FEA
6 		HUN
SPR
Ret 		HOC
FEA
9 		HOC
SPR
12 		SPA
FEA
11 		SPA
SPR
11 		MNZ
FEA
11 		MNZ
SPR
6 		SEP
FEA
Ret 		SEP
SPR
7 		YMC
FEA
2 		YMC
SPR
4 		11th 92
2017 ART Grand Prix BHR
FEA
8 		BHR
SPR
14 		CAT
FEA
4 		CAT
SPR
1 		MON
FEA
3 		MON
SPR
7 		BAK
FEA
12 		BAK
SPR
6 		RBR
FEA
6 		RBR
SPR
14 		SIL
FEA
10 		SIL
SPR
8 		HUN
FEA
5 		HUN
SPR
1 		SPA
FEA
16 		SPA
SPR
Ret 		MNZ
FEA
2 		MNZ
SPR
7 		JER
FEA
18 		JER
SPR
11 		YMC
FEA
6 		YMC
SPR
4 		6th 131
2019 Carlin BHR
FEA
9 		BHR
SPR
12 		BAK
FEA
13 		BAK
SPR
12 		CAT
FEA
11 		CAT
SPR
Ret 		MON
FEA
2 		MON
SPR
9 		LEC
FEA
9 		LEC
SPR
9 		RBR
FEA
1 		RBR
SPR
5 		SIL
FEA
9 		SIL
SPR
7 		HUN
FEA
7 		HUN
SPR
2 		SPA
FEA
C 		SPA
SPR
C 		MNZ
FEA
1 		MNZ
SPR
5 		SOC
FEA
6 		SOC
SPR
Ret 		YMC
FEA
2 		YMC
SPR
7 		6th 144
2020 MP Motorsport RBR1
FEA
9 		RBR1
SPR
6 		RBR2
FEA
17 		RBR2
SPR
11 		HUN
FEA
12 		HUN
SPR
11 		SIL1
FEA
10 		SIL1
SPR
7 		SIL2
FEA
11 		SIL2
SPR
18 		CAT
FEA
1 		CAT
SPR
5 		SPA
FEA
Ret 		SPA
SPR
DNS 		MNZ
FEA
15 		MNZ
SPR
11 		MUG
FEA
11 		MUG
SPR
14 		SOC
FEA 		SOC
SPR 		BHR1
FEA 		BHR1
SPR 		BHR2
FEA 		BHR2
SPR 		15th 42

Complete Super Formula results

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(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 DC Points
2018 Docomo Team Dandelion Racing SUZ
12 		AUT
C 		SUG
10 		FUJ
9 		MOT
4 		OKA
9 		SUZ
7 		11th 7
2020 Buzz Racing with B-Max MOT OKA SUG AUT
6 		SUZ
Ret 		SUZ
14 		FUJ
3 		15th 16
2021 B-Max Racing FUJ SUZ
13 		AUT
3‡ 		SUG
4 		MOT
3 		MOT
6 		SUZ
12 		8th 33.5
2022 FUJ
Ret 		FUJ
19 		SUZ
1 		AUT
10 		SUG
Ret 		FUJ
Ret 		MOT
11 		MOT
11 		SUZ
17 		SUZ
Ret 		13th 21
2023 FUJ
13 		FUJ
12 		SUZ
12 		AUT
Ret 		SUG
Ret 		FUJ
13 		MOT
Ret 		SUZ
13 		SUZ
7 		19th 4
2024 TGM Grand Prix SUZ
8 		AUT
16 		SUG
19 		FUJ MOT FUJ FUJ SUZ SUZ 15th 3

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Super GT results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2020 ARTA Honda NSX GT3 Evo GT300 FUJ FUJ SUZ MOT FUJ SUZ MOT
8 		FUJ
7 		23rd 7
2021 Team Impul Nissan GT-R Nismo GT500 GT500 OKA
10 		FUJ
9 		MOT
11 		SUZ
6 		SUG
1 		AUT
7 		MOT
3 		FUJ
9 		8th 45
2022 Astemo Real Racing Honda NSX-Type S GT500 OKA
9 		FUJ
9‡ 		SUZ
2 		FUJ
10 		SUZ
2 		SUG
12 		AUT
1 		MOT
5 		4th 60
2023 OKA
7 		FUJ
3 		SUZ
9 		FUJ
7 		SUZ
4 		SUG
DSQ 		AUT
6 		MOT
3 		6th 45
2024 ARTA Honda Civic Type R-GT GT500 OKA
8 		FUJ
14 		SUZ
Ret 		FUJ
1 		SUG
15 		AUT
11 		MOT
2 		SUZ
 7th* 43*

‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.
* Season still in progress.

References

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  1. ^ "Profile" (in Japanese). nobunobuf1.wix.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Teams & drivers 2011". Formula Pilota China. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  3. ^ "Formula Pilota China 2011 standings". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Formula Challenge Japan 2012". Driver Database. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Honda 2013 Motorsports Overview". Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 8 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Japanese Formula 3 Championship – Championship Class 2013". driverdb.com. Driver Database. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. ^ "2014 Honda Global Motor Sports Activities Automobile[PDF]" (PDF). Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  8. ^ Allen, Peter (13 October 2014). "PaddockScout Roundup: GP2/GP3 Sochi, F3/F4 Imola". Paddock Scout. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  9. ^ "Honda 2015 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Matsushita suspended for next event". GP2 Series. GP2 Series Limited. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  11. ^ @nobu_mat13 (22 September 2020). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 22 September 2020 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ "Matsushita named as McLaren F1 test driver". 20 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  13. ^ Klein, Jamie (5 March 2024). "Nobuharu Matsushita completes 2024 Super Formula grid". Japan Racing Insider. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  14. ^ "Nobuharu Matsushita Replaces Injured Takagi at ARTA". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Calsonic Team Impul Ends Five Year Winless Drought In Sugo Thriller". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  16. ^ "ARTA Wins On The Last Lap at Motegi, Sets Stage For Final Showdown at Fuji". www.dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  17. ^ "New Honda NSX-GT "Type S" Spotted Testing At Motegi". dailysportscar.com. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Honda Announces 2022 Super GT Lineups". dailysportscar.com. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Honda 2024 Motorsports Program Overview". Honda Racing. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Takamoto Katsuta
 Formula Challenge Japan
Champion
2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by All-Japan Formula Three Championship
Champion
2014 		Succeeded by
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