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. In the 1985 win, Matsumoto, Hoshino, and Akira Hagiwara became the first Japanese drivers to ever win a race in the World Sportscar Championship; Hoshino 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.