Born 11/13/1945, Tokyo, Japan 1 Start 1 Fastest Lap The Japanese Grand Prix was included in the F1 calendar in 1976. Japan was beginning to become a global economic powerhouse and its car industry was making headways against the American and European competition. Early Japanese forays in F1 had been limited to the mildly successful Honda entries of the 60’s and the disastrous Maki in the 70s. So when it was announced that Kojima would enter the debut Japanese race, with a Dunlop shod car at that, not many people wagered their bets on a competitive entry. However, Masahiro Hasemi did manage to qualify the car tenth, and in the race was credited with fastest lap, a claim that many dismiss as fictitious to this day. This turned out to be Hasemi’s single F1 start, so he stands as the only single race participant to post fastest lap. In Japan Masahiro won a multitude of titles, in single seaters and tin tops. He also competed outside of his country, in Le Mans