Kosuke Matsuura

Infobox racing driver
name = Kosuke Matsuura

---

pixels =
caption = Kosuke Matsuura gets ready for a practice run prior to the 2007 Indy 500.
nationality = flagicon|JPN Japanese
date of birth = Birth date and age|1979|09|04
place of birth = Aichi, Japan
last series = IndyCar Series
years active = 2004-2007
teams = Aguri Panther
Aguri Fernandez
starts = 64
wins = 0
poles = 0
fastest laps =
best finish = 13th
year = 2006
prev series =
prev series years =
titles =
title years =
awards = IndyCar Rookie of the Year Indy 500 Rookie of the Year
award years = 2004 2004

Kosuke Matsuura (松浦孝亮, born September 4, 1979 in Aichi, Japan) is a race car driver currently competing in the Formula Nippon series. He previously competed in the IRL IndyCar Series.

Early career

After 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 Championship, winning 3 races before replacing Roger Yasukawa at Super Aguri Fernandez Racing in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 2004.

IRL IndyCar Series

In 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 11th 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 Vitor 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 [ [http://www.mynameisirl.com/2007/07/mutoh-gets-indycar-in-september.html Mutoh gets an IndyCar (in September)] , Retrieved Aug 5 2007] and the article has since been removed [ [http://insider.speedtv.com/viewtopic.php?p=2757484 So Long Kosuke] , Retrieved Aug 5 2007] , it did little to stop speculation that Matsuura will 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 (radio announcer) to suggest that the finish may help him stay in IRL 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 long time sponsors Panasonic switched their sponsorship to Hideki Mutoh of the Andretti Green Racing team in IndyCar Series, Kosuke returned to Japan to compete in the Formula Nippon Series.

Motorsports Career Results

American Open-Wheel

() (Races in bold indicate pole position)

IndyCar

References

External links

* [http://www.kosukematsuura.com/ Kosuke Matsuura official website]