Nick Cassidy

Nick Cassidy is one of the most prominent young drivers from New Zealand. He currently competes in two Japanese championships - Super Formula and Super GT Series.

In 2017, he became the Super GT champion, together with Ryo Hirakawa driving for Lexus Team Tom's. In 2018, Cassidy was a runner-up in both championships and then, in 2019, he became Super Formula champion.

Earlier in a career, he was the 2015 Japanese Formula 3 champion and two-time champion of New Zealand's Toyota Racing Series (in 2012 and 2013).

Nick Cassidy

On the top from the beginning

Born in 1994, Nick started his racing career at the age 6, entering karting competitions. He made a switch to bigger cars early, at the age 14, entering the 2008 Formula First Manfield Winter Series. He immediately showed his potential and became the champion of the series. He spent one more season in the Formula First New Zealand, finishing in the second place. He was the runner-up again in the 2010 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship.

Rookie of the Year in the Toyota Racing Series

In 2011, Cassidy progressed to the Toyota Racing Series, New Zealand's major competition for young drivers from all over the world. In his debut season, Nick was the race winner two times, becoming the Rookie of the Year and finishing second in the overall standings, behind Mitch Evans.

During the year, he had an occasional participations in some European competitions, such were ADAC Formel Masters or Formula Abarth, but also in the Australian Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. He was driving a Holden Commodore for Greg Murphy Racing in five races.

Two-time champion of the Toyota Racing Series

In 2012, Cassidy became Toyota Racing Series champion for the first time, driving for Giles Motorsport. He won five times in 15 races, dominantly taking a title ahead of Dutch driver Hannes van Asseldonk.

Next year, Nick defended a title, driving the #1 car for the M2 Competition team. He was the race winner just two times but collected ten podiums in 15 races, winning the championship ahead of Alex Lynn and Lucas Auer.

Nick Cassidy in 2013

Podium for Nick at 2014 Macau Grand Prix

While competing in New Zealand' single-seater series, Cassidy was also active in some other open-wheel competitions over 2012 and 2013, participating in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and Formula 3 European Championship. He also gained some success in New Zealand's V8 SuperTourer Championship.

In 2014, Cassidy moved his focus to European competitions, collecting ten starts in the FR 2.0 Eurocup, two starts in the FR 2.0 Alps and six starts in the F3 European Championship with ThreeBond with T-Sport. He finished third in his debut in the F3 Macau Grand Prix with ThreeBond with T-Sport.

2014 Macau Grand Prix podium

Japanese Formula 3 Champion in 2015

In 2015, Nick's main competition was the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. He was driving the #37 Dallara-Toyota for Petronas Team Tom's, winning seven times in 17 races. He won the championship ahead of his teammate Kenta Yamashita. At non-championship Macau Grand Prix, Cassidy was 12th.

Of other competitions, he participated in two rounds of the F3 European Championship for Prema Powerteam, scoring two podiums in six races, both at Nurburgring. He also participated in one race of the Japanese Super GT Series, driving a Toyota 86 for Team Up Garage with Bandoh at Suzuka 1000 km race.

2015 Japanese Formula 3 Champion

Double European-Japanese programme in 2016

In 2016, Cassidy had full-time commitments both in Europe and Japan. He contested a full season in the Formula 3 European Championship with Prema Powerteam. Driving the #2 Dallara-Mercedes, he scored seven podiums and won the race at Zandvoort to finish fourth in the final standings.

He also spent a full season in the GT500 class of the Super GT Series, sharing the #36 Lexus RC F with Daisuke Ito. In eight races, they scored two podiums (Suzuka and Motegi) to finish fifth in the GT500 rankings.

Since 2017, Nick competes in the Super GT Series and Super Formula Championship

Japanese Super GT champion in 2017

In 2017, Cassidy switched his focus to Japanese competitions only. He continues to drive for Lexus Team Tom's in the Super GT Series, sharing a new Lexus LC 500 with Ryo Hirakawa. They won the season-opening race at Okayama International Circuit and then the sixth round at Chang International Circuit, entering the season's finale at Twin Ring Motegi as championship leaders. Second place in the last race was good enough to take the championship title. They became the youngest ever GT500 champions in a history of Super GT Series.

In 2017, Cassidy also debuted in the Japanese Super Formula Championship, driving the #3 Toyota for Kondo Racing. He scored his first podium in the second round, finishing third at Okayama. At the end of the season, he was 10th in the points.

Ryo Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy - 2017 Super GT champions

Vice-champion both in the Super Formula and Super GT Series

In 2018, Nick continued to race with Toyota and Lexus in two major Japanese championships. He scored maiden Super Formula victory in the fourth round at Fuji and finished the season in the second place, behind Naoki Yamamoto (Honda). Cassidy lost a fight for the title in the last round at Suzuka where Yamamoto was first and Cassidy was second.

Two weeks later, Cassidy was close to one more title but he lost one more time to Naoki Yamamoto, finishing second in final classification of the Super GT Series. During the season, Cassidy and Ryo Hirakawa won one race in the #1 Lexus LC500.

Nick Cassidy - 2019 Super Formula champion

Japanese Super Formula champion in 2019

In 2019, Cassidy stayed with Toyota/Lexus both in the Super GT Series and Super Formula Championship. He was again among the front-runners in both competitions. In October, he won Super Formula championship title, beating closest rival Naoki Yamamoto by three points.

A week later, he was in the fight for the championship title in the Super GT Series. He and Ryo Hirakawa won the season-closing race at Twn Ring Motegi but stayed short by just two points, losing a title to Kazuya Oshima/Kenta Yamashita.

Photos: Nick Cassidy FB, motorsport.com, motornews.co.nz,