Masahiro Hasemi (長谷見 昌弘, Hasemi Masahiro; born 13 November 1945) is a Japanese former racing driver, team owner, and one of the drivers most closely associated with Nissan’s motorsport history.
Driver Bio
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Birthplace | Tokyo, Japan |
| Born | 13 November 1945 |
| First Grand Prix | 1976 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last Grand Prix | 1976 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Years Active | 1976 |
| Current/Last Team | Kojima |
Hasemi began in motocross at the age of 15 and joined Nissan as a driver in 1964. After building his reputation in Japanese saloon-car and GT competition, he travelled to Britain for two rounds of the 1973 British Saloon Car Championship.
His only Formula One appearance came with Kojima at the inaugural World Championship Japanese Grand Prix on 24 October 1976. Hasemi qualified an impressive tenth despite making a mistake that cost him a possible shot at pole position. In a rain-lashed race, he finished 11th, seven laps behind the winner.
Together with Noritake Takahara and Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Hasemi became one of the first three Japanese drivers to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Although many historical results credited him with the race’s fastest lap, that widely repeated statistic was incorrect: Hasemi never recorded a fastest lap in a World Championship event.
His achievements at home were far more extensive. Hasemi won the Fuji Grand Champion Series in 1974 and again in 1980, the same year he became Japanese Formula Two champion.
He then renewed his connection with Nissan’s Skyline, a car with which his name became inseparable across Group 5, touring-car and JGTC competition. Hasemi won the Japanese Touring Car Championship three times—in 1989, 1991 and 1992—and added the 1990 All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.
His international successes included a controversial victory in the 1990 Guia touring-car race at Macau and an outright win at the 1992 24 Hours of Daytona.
Hasemi retired from driving in 2001 but remained deeply involved in the sport. He went on to run NDDP Racing in Super GT’s GT500 class and owns Hasemi Sport, which previously competed as Hasemi Motorsport and also operates as a Nissan aftermarket-parts business.
He is also the most recent Japanese driver to win the Japanese Grand Prix, having taken victory in the 1975 edition when the race was still a non-championship event.
Grand Prix Stats
| Race Entries | 1 |
| Race Starts | 1 |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Best Race Start | 10th |
| Best Race Finish | 11th |
| Retirements | 0 |
| First-Lap Retirements | 0 |
| Not Classified | 0 |
| Disqualified | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Qualifying
| Qualifying Sessions | 1 |
| Reached Q3 | – |
| Q2 Eliminations | – |
| Q1 Eliminations | – |
| Did Not Qualify | 0 |
Stats by Season
| Year | Constructor | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Pts Finishes | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Kojima | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | NC |
