Keiji Matsumoto

Keiji Matsumoto (松本 恵二, Matsumoto Keiji, 26 December 1949 – 17 May 2015) was a Japanese racing driver who competed at the top level of Japanese Formula racing, currently known as Super Formula, between 1976 and 1992. Under the Japanese Formula 2 moniker, he won the championship in 1979 and was runner-up to future Formula 1 driver Satoru Nakajima in 1982 and 1985.

Motorsport career

Matsumoto scored 11 wins and 29 podium finishes, seventh all-time in both accounts, over a 129-race career, which put him third in all-time Super Formula career starts behind generational peers Kazuyoshi Hoshino and Kunimitsu Takahashi. In a rare overseas foray in 1981, he also took part in the Donington "50.000", a race of the European Formula Two championship, crossing the finish line in 15th place.

Until 1989, he also dabbled in Japanese sports car racing, winning the Fuji Grand Champion Series in 1983, and the Fuji 1000 km in 1985 and 1989.[1] In the 1985 win, Matsumoto became the first Japanese driver to ever win a race in the World Sportscar Championship alongside teammate Hoshino, who was actually the only one who got to drive the car before the race was stopped early due to heavy rain. Matsumoto also competed in the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Hoshino and Kenji Takahashi as an official Nissan driver.[2]

In 1986, Matsumoto became the first public representative of Cabin Racing, which was developed as a huge project of Japan Tobacco, and gained notoriety beyond the world of motorsports by appearing in TV commercials. After his retirement, he stayed active in the Japanese motorsports scene, either at historic or current events, and became a driver coach for young talents such as Shinji Nakano, Juichi Wakisaka and Ryo Michigami.

He died on May 17, 2015, aged 65, after battling with cirrhosis for some time.

Racing record

Japanese Top Formula Championship results

(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	DC	Points
1976	Matsumoto Racing Union	FUJ	SUZ Ret	FUJ	SUZ 8	SUZ Ret							17th	3
1977	Matsumoto Racing Union	SUZ 7	SUZ 5	MIN 3	SUZ 6	FUJ 9	FUJ 10	SUZ 7	SUZ Ret				9th	32 (34)
1978	Matsumoto Racing Union	SUZ 7	FUJ 4	SUZ 6	SUZ 4	SUZ 9	MIN 2	SUZ 11					5th	50 (60)
1979	Diatone Racing	SUZ 9	MIN 1	SUZ 3	FUJ 1	SUZ 5	SUZ 1	SUZ 5					1st	79 (90)
1980	Diatone Racing	SUZ 6	MIN 3	SUZ Ret	SUZ Ret	SUZ 1	SUZ 4						4th	42
1981	DHL Team Le Mans	SUZ 1	SUZ 11	SUZ 2	SUZ 9	SUZ Ret							4th	37
1982	Team Le Mans	SUZ 2	FUJ 4	SUZ 2	SUZ 2	SUZ 7	SUZ Ret						2nd	55 (59)
1983	Team Le Mans	SUZ 5	FUJ DSQ	MIN Ret	SUZ 1	SUZ Ret	FUJ 10	SUZ 7	SUZ 8				8th	36
1984	Team Le Mans	SUZ 3	FUJ Ret	MIN 9	SUZ 3	SUZ 15	FUJ 8	SUZ Ret	SUZ 4				5th	39
1985	Team Le Mans	SUZ 1	FUJ 6	MIN Ret	SUZ 3	SUZ 9	FUJ 6	SUZ 5	SUZ 2				2nd	67 (69)
1986	Cabin Racing	SUZ 1	FUJ 5	MIN 1	SUZ 5	SUZ 5	FUJ 5	SUZ Ret	SUZ Ret				4th	72
1987	Cabin Racing	SUZ 13	FUJ 3	MIN 3	SUZ 4	SUZ 4	SUG 3	FUJ Ret	SUZ 4	SUZ 3			4th	78
1988	Meiju Racing	SUZ 13	FUJ 6	MIN Ret	SUZ Ret	SUG	FUJ Ret	SUZ 16	SUZ Ret				12th	1
1989	Wacoal Dome Racing Team	SUZ 14	FUJ 6	MIN 6	SUZ Ret	SUG Ret	FUJ 6	SUZ 6	SUZ Ret				14th	4
1990	Dome	SUZ 3	FUJ Ret	MIN 1	SUZ 1	SUG Ret	FUJ 14	FUJ Ret	SUZ 7	FUJ 13	SUZ Ret		4th	22
1991	Dome	SUZ Ret	AUT Ret	FUJ 2	MIN Ret	SUZ Ret	SUG Ret	FUJ 24	SUZ 12	FUJ C	SUZ 18	FUJ Ret	12th	6
1992	Dome	SUZ 13	FUJ Ret	MIN Ret	SUZ Ret	AUT Ret	SUG Ret	FUJ 9	FUJ Ret	SUZ 9	FUJ 14	SUZ NC	25th	0

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References

1. O'Connell, R. J. (2020-11-25). "10 outstanding Japanese drivers who never reached F1". Formula Scout. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
2. Cooper, Adam (2015-05-18). "Keiji Matsumoto 1949-2015". Adam Cooper's F1 Blog. Retrieved 2020-12-20.