is a former racing driver and team owner from Japan. He started racing motocross when he was 15 years old. In 1964 he signed to drive for Nissan. After establishing himself in saloon car and GT races in Japan, he notably entered two rounds of the 1973 British Saloon Car Championship. He took part in his only Formula One race at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix for Kojima on 24 October 1976. He qualified tenth after an error which cost him his chance of a pole position and finished 11th, seven laps behind the winner. Contrary to a widely propagated but mistaken result, however, he never set a fastest lap in a Formula One championship race. Along with compatriots Noritake Takahara and Kazuyoshi Hoshino, he was the first Japanese driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix.

Hasemi became the Japanese Formula 2 champion in 1980, and got two titles in the Fuji Grand Champion Series in 1974 and 1980. After that he reverted to racing Skylines, which he became heavily synonymous with in Group 5, touring cars and JGTC. He won the Japanese Touring Car Championship in 1989, 1991 and 1992. He also won the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1990, with the controversial win at the Guia Touring Car race at the Macau Grand Prix in 1990 and Daytona 24 hour in 1992. Hasemi retired from driving in 2001 and now runs NDDP Racing, a Super GT team that currently competes in the GT500 class. Hasemi also owns Hasemi Sport, a former Super GT racing team that ran under the Hasemi Motorsport banner and Nissan aftermarket parts company.

Hasemi is the most recent Japanese driver to win his home Grand Prix, winning it in 1975, when it was a non-championship race.

Racing record

Japanese Top Formula Championship results (key) Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points 1974 Kojima EngineeringSUZ SUZ SUZ SUZ 2nd 20 1975 Sakai Racing Team FUJ SUZFUJ SUZ 3rd 45 Kojima Engineering SUZ 1976 Kojima Engineering FUJSUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ 2nd 52 1977 Kojima EngineeringSUZSUZMIN SUZ FUJ 4th 46 Private Hasemi FUJ SUZ SUZ1978Tomy Racing Team SUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ SUZ MIN SUZ 2nd 72 (82)1979Tomy Racing Team SUZ MIN SUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ SUZ 5th 55 (58)1980Tomy Racing Team SUZ MIN SUZ SUZ SUZ SUZ1st71 (79)1981Tomy Racing Team SUZ SUZ SUZ SUZ SUZ9th221984Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ6th391985Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ8th371986Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUZ FUJ SUZ SUZ9th28 (30)1987Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ7th381988Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ9th41989Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ SUZ4th211990Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ13th51991Speed Star Wheel Racing Team SUZAUT FUJ MIN SUZ SUG FUJ SUZ FUJ SUZ FUJ21st2

Complete Formula One results (key) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 WDC Pts 1976 Kojima Engineering Kojima KE007 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 BRA RSA USW ESP BEL MON SWE FRA GBR GER AUT NED ITA CAN USA JPN NC 0

Complete JTC/JTCC results (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 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Pts 1989Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GTS-RJTC-1NISSENTSUSUGSUZFUJ 1st 161 1990Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RJTC-1NISSUGSUZTSUSENFUJ 3rd 160 1991Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RJTC-1SUGSUZTSUSENAUTFUJ 1st 200 1992Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RJTC-1AIDAUTSUGSUZMINTSUSENFUJ 1st 110 1993Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RJTC-1MINAUT SUGSUZAIDTSUTOKSENFUJ 7th 89 1994NismoNissan PrimeraAUT1AUT2SUG1SUG2TOK1TOK2SUZ1SUZ2MIN1MIN2AID1AID2TSU1TSU2SEN1SEN2FUJ1FUJ2 6th 76 1995Hasemi Motorsport Nissan PrimeraFUJ1FUJ2SUG1SUG2TOK1TOK2SUZ1SUZ2MIN1MIN2AID1AID2SEN1SEN2FUJ1FUJ2 16th 19 1996HKS Opel Team JapanOpel VectraFUJ1FUJ2SUG1SUG2SUZ1SUZ2MIN1MIN2SEN1SEN2TOK1TOK2FUJ1FUJ2 14th 24

Complete JGTC results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DC Pts 1994Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500FUJ6SEN1FUJ4SUG3MIN5 2nd 56 1995Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500SUZ4FUJ2SEN14FUJ1SUG4MIN6 2nd 61 1996Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500SUZ3FUJ6SEN2FUJ14SUG6MIN55th47 1997Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500SUZ4FUJ2SEN9FUJ6MIN7SUGRet7th37 1998Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500SUZ5FUJCSENRetFUJ2MOT8MIN8SUG55th37 1999Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500SUZ6FUJ7SUG7MIN4FUJ11TAI12MOT817th27 2000Hasemi MotorsportNissan Skyline GT-RGT500MOT5FUJ9SUGRetFUJ11TAI15MIN11SUZ816th13

Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1981 Nissan Motor Co. Kazuyoshi Hoshino Nissan Bluebird Turbo 4 Cylinder 66 DNF DNF 1982 Nissan Motor Co. Kazuyoshi Hoshino Nissan Bluebird Turbo B 153 8th 1st

24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1986 Nismo James Weaver Takao Wada Nissan R85V C1 285 16th 10th 1987 Nismo Takao Wada Aguri Suzuki Nissan R87E C1 117 DNF DNF 1989 Nismo Kazuyoshi Hoshino Toshio Suzuki Nissan R89C C1 167 DNF DNF 1990 Nismo Kazuyoshi Hoshino Toshio Suzuki Nissan R90CP C1 348 5th 5th 1996 Nismo Kazuyoshi Hoshino Toshio Suzuki Nissan Nismo GT-R LM GT1 307 15th 10th

Note on fastest lap in Formula One It was initially announced that Hasemi set the fastest lap at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix, but it was a measurement mistake, and, several days later, the circuit issued a press release to correct the fastest lap holder of the race to Jacques Laffite. This press release was promptly made known in Japan, and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and Japanese media corrected the record. But this correction was not made well known outside Japan, thus, Hasemi remains credited with a fastest lap in many record books.

References

External links Masahiro Hasemi profile at the Japan Automobile Federation Hasemi Sport Deals with Nissan aftermarket parts (Japanese) Kojima F1 Project 1976 Japanese Grand prix page, partially dedicated to Hasemi-san and the car Gzox Hasemi's Super GT sponsor's page (Japanese) Team profile