Why Super Formula will miss Nobuharu Matsushita when he's gone

A look at how 'Nobu' fell out of favour with Honda and why his split with TGM Grand Prix likely spells the end of his time in Super Formula... (All photos: JRP)

Photo: JRP

On Thursday, TGM Grand Prix confirmed what many paddock observers had been expecting since last month’s Sugo round: that Nobuharu Matsushita will no longer drive for the team starting from the fourth round of the season at Fuji Speedway.

Instead, the team has announced that Hiroki Otsu and Riki Okusa will take turns driving the vacated #55 car in this weekend’s in-season test at Fuji, with one of the two likely to take over the seat for the remainder of the season.

Given that Matsushita’s deal with TGM was made completely independently of engine supplier Honda, which had already made the decision to cut him loose after the end of last season, it looks likely that the Sugo race could well have marked the 30-year-old’s 38th and final appearance in Super Formula. If that is indeed the case, then Japan’s top single-seater series will be all the poorer without him around.