Masahiro Hasemi

Born	(1945-11-13) 13 November 1945 Tokyo, Japan
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Japanese
Active years	1976
Teams	Kojima
Entries	1
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	01
First entry	1976 Japanese Grand Prix
Last entry	1976 Japanese Grand Prix

Masahiro Hasemi (Shinjitai: 長谷見 昌弘, Hasemi Masahiro, born 13 November 1945 in Tokyo) 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 participated in his only Formula One race at the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix for Kojima on 24 October 1976. He qualified 10th 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.¹ 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.

Hasemi's former Kojima KE007 on display at Yurakucho Marion in 2013.

1994 Nissan Skyline GT-R prepared by Hasemi Motorsport and driven by Masahiro Hasemi in the 1994 JGTC season

Racing record

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
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	Pos.	Class Pos.
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.^[1] This press release was promptly made known in Japan, and the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and Japanese media corrected the record.^[2][3] But this correction was not made well known outside Japan, thus, Hasemi is credited with one 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