Kei Francesco Cozzolino | |
---|---|
Born | 9 November 1987 |
Nationality | Japan |
Occupation | Racing driver |
FIA World Endurance Championship | |
Racing licence | FIA Gold |
Years active | 2019 – 2023 |
Teams | AF Corse |
Championship titles | |
GT World Challenge Asia Asian Le Mans Series Lamborghini Super Trofeo Esso Formula Toyota | |
Awards | |
2022GT World Challenge Asia Overall Champion 2018 Asian Le Mans GT Champion 2017 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Champion 2007 Esso Formula Toyota Champion |
Kei Francesco Cozzolino (born in Shinjuku, Tokyo, November 9, 1987) is a Japanese-Italian professional racing driver from Shinjuku, Tokyo. He competes in motorsport championships including the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, and the Asian Le Mans Series with AF Corse. Cozzolino also joins the 2024 Super GT series, driving the Ferrari 296 GT3 for PONOS RACING.
Cozzolino was born in Ichigaya, Shinjuku by Japanese mother and Italian father. He grew up in Japan and had his first experience with racing at 8 years old, thanks to his dad's passion for cars. When Cozzolino turned 14, they moved to Florence, Italy, where he will study at an international school. [1]
Cozzolino started karting at the age of 9. He competed and won in various competitions in classes in Japan and around the world. His karting career ended in 2005 when he switched to racing cars.
In 2006, Cozzolino made his debut in auto racing, in the Formula Toyota series, during the second round of the championship at Sendai Hi-Land Raceway. [2] Cozzolino finished tenth out of eleven finishers. In 2007, he competed in the Formula Challenge Japan and the Formula Toyota classes. In the Formula Challenge Japan, supported by Nissan, Toyota and Honda, Cozzolino won one race. All the drivers who entered both the Formula Toyota and Formula Challenge Japan series were supported by Toyota. This was to promote the Formula Challenge Japan as a replacement of the Formula Toyota after the series disbandment. [3] In the final season of the Formula Toyota, Cozzolino won the title. Cozzolino was strong all season long, but Keisuke Kunimoto had the lead before the final round of the season. At the final round of the season at Fuji International Speedway Cozzolino qualified second and Kunimoto sixth. After a strong race Cozzolino won the race, KyoYu did not finish the race, thus the championship was decided in Cozzolino's favour.
After his 2007 Formula Toyota championship the young driver graduated to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship driving Now Motor Sport in a Dallara F308. As a result of winning the championship Cozzolino tested for the Toyota Tom's Formula Nippon factory team. In his debut year in Formula 3 the young Italian achieved four podium finishes and a ninth place in the championship. He also participated in the 2008 Macau Grand Prix Formula Three where he finished fifteenth. For the 2009 season, Cozzolino switched to the only Honda powered entry Toda Racing. He achieved his first win in Formula Three during the round at Twin Ring Motegi. But with the Toyota Tom's team dominating the championship Cozzolino was best of the rest finishing fourth.
For the 2010 season, Cozzolino graduated to the Formula Nippon, the highest racing class in Japan. Cozzolino participated in a Toyota powered Swift FN09 entered by Team LeMans.[ citation needed ] His best finish was a fourth place at Autopolis. During the non-championship Fuji Sprint Cup he achieved his first pole-position and eventually finished tenth in the standings.[ citation needed ]
After more than a year without racing Cozzolino was announced as a replacement of Alberto Cerqui for the Guia Race of Macau. [4] 29 drivers attempted to qualify for the event of which 23 could start the race, Cozzolino qualified 22nd. In the first race he had an accident after seven laps but he was qualified 20th. In the second race he was the last running driver in 19th place 2 laps behind the winning driver.
In 2018–2019, the Ferrari 488 GT3 of the privately run CAR GUY team, with fellow team mates Takeshi Kimura and James Calado, win all four legs of the 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series. [5] The team achieves an auto-invitation to enter into the 2019 24 hours of Le Mans. Cozzolino returns to the series with AF Corse teaming up with Emmanuel Collard and Charlie Samani.
Cozzolino has made 3 appearances in Le Mans (2019, 2020 and 2023). In 2019, he finishes 5th in class. At his second attempt in 2020, the Ferrari 488 GTE EVO of the MR Racing team, suffers a mechanical problem early on the race and forced to be 7 laps behind the leader. In the end the team retires due to a gearbox failure on lap 172. In the 2023 edition, with the Kessel Racing's Ferrari 488 GTE EVO number 74 finishing 9th in class.
Following his remarkable achievement in 2019, Cozzolino secured a contract to compete for the MR Racing team during the FIA WEC 2019-2020 season. He teamed up with Olivier Beretta and Motoaki Ishikawa, and their best performance came in the form of a 3rd place finish in the opening round at Silverstone. Unfortunately, as the season progressed, MR Racing was forced to withdraw from the series due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.Cozzolino made a return to the series for the final round in Bahrain, this time with Red River Sport.
In 2023, he joined forces with Kessel Racing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monza events. Subsequently, he made a comeback with AF Corse to participate in the Fuji and Bahrain rounds.
In 2016, Cozzolino made his debut in the Super GT series upon being promoted to the prestigious position of a Lamborghini Young Driver. During that year, he participated in only two rounds, driving the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 as a member of the Direction Racing team.
Cozzolino's return to the series took place in 2020 when he stepped in to replace Nicki Thiim for the Pacific - D'station Racing team, driving the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 alongside the team's star driver, Tomonobu Fujii.
In the year 2021, Cozzolino embarked on a new venture, debuting the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo with the PACIFIC NAC CARGUY Racing Team, forming a partnership with the 2012 Super GT 300 Champion, Naoki Yokomizo.
Looking ahead to 2024, Cozzolino is set to rejoin the series as part of the PONOS Racing team, piloting the Ferrari 296 GT3. He will be teaming up with Ferrari Factory Driver, Lilou Wadoux, in this exciting new chapter of his Super GT career.
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Driver's Championship | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Le Beausset Motorsports | FUJ 5 | SUZ 2 | MOT 3 | SEN1 2 | SEN2 1 | SUG 1 | FUJ 1 | 1st | 103 |
Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Driver's Championship | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Now Motorsports | FUJ 3 | FUJ 5 | AUT 2 | AUT 4 | SUZ 6 | SUZ 3 | MOT 8 | MOT 4 | OKA 7 | OKA 7 | SUZ 5 | SUZ DNF | MOT 6 | MOT 6 | FUJ 3 | FUJ 4 | SUG 6 | SUG DNF | 6th | 133 |
2009 | Toda Racing | FUJ 4 | FUJ 4 | OKA 4 | OKA 4 | SUZ 5 | SUZ 5 | FUJ 5 | FUJ DNF | OKA 9 | OKA 7 | MOT 2 | MOT 1 | AUT 4 | AUT 3 | SUG 4 | SUG 4 | 4th | 66 |
Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2010 | Team LeMans | SUZ Ret | MOT 10 | FUJ 8 | MOT 13 | SUG 7 | AUT 4 | SUZ1 13 | SUZ2 14 | 10th | 8 |
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blancpain GT Series Asia | |||||||||||||||||
2018 | Car Guy Racing | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | Silver | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | BUR 1 | BUR 2 | SUZ 1 | SUZ 2 | FUJ 1 1 | FUJ 2 15 | SHA 1 | SHA 2 | ZHE 1 | ZHE 2 | 20th | 25 |
2018 | Car Guy Racing | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 | Pro-Am | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | BUR 1 | BUR 2 | SUZ 1 16 | SUZ 2 12 | FUJ 1 30 | FUJ 2 18 | SHA 1 | SHA 2 | NIN 1 | NIN 2 | NC | 0 |
GT World Challenge Asia | |||||||||||||||||
2022 | Car Guy Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | Pro-Am | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | SUZ 1 1 | SUZ 2 5 | FUJ 1 1 | FUJ 2 3 | SUG 1 2 | SUG 2 3 | OKA 1 2 | OKA 2 12 | 1st | 126 | ||
2023 | Car Guy Racing | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Pro-Am | BUR 1 | BUR 2 | FUJ 1 12 | FUJ 2 9 | SUZ 1 | SUZ 2 | MOT 1 7 | MOT 2 24 | OKA 1 6 | OKA 2 16 | SEP 1 | SEP 2 | 27th | 16 |
* Season still in progress.
Year | Entrant | Class | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pos. | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-20 | MR Racing | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | SIL 3 | FUJ 4 | SHA 7 | BHR 7 | COA 10 | SPA | LMS Ret | 14th | 45 | |
Red River Sport | BHR 10 | ||||||||||||
2023 | Kessel Racing | LMGTE Am | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | SEB | POR | SPA | LMS 9 | MNZ Ret | 28th | 0 | |||
AF Corse | FUJ 12 | BHR 11 |
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Car Guy Racing | Takeshi Kimura Côme Ledogar | Ferrari 488 GTE | GTE Am | 332 | 35th | 5th |
2020 | MR Racing | Vincent Abril Takeshi Kimura | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am | 172 | DNF | DNF |
2023 | Kessel Racing | Yorikatsu Tsujiko Naoki Yokomizo | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | GTE Am | 303 | 38th | 9th |
Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | DC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Lamborghini Team Direction Shift | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 | GT300 | OKA 16 | FUJ 17 | SUG | FUJ | SUZ | CHA | MOT | MOT | NC | 0 |
2018 | CarGuy Racing | Honda NSX GT3 | GT300 | OKA | FUJ 26 | SUZ | BUR | FUJ | SUG | AUT | MOT | NC | 0 |
2020 | Pacific - D'station Racing AMR | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | GT300 | FUJ1 10 | FUJ2 19 | SUZ1 10 | MOT1 18 | FUJ3 24 | SUZ2 24 | MOT2 25 | FUJ4 | 28th | 2 |
2021 | Pacific - Car Guy Racing | Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO 2020 | GT300 | OKA 23 | FUJ1 | SUZ | MOT1 | SUG | AUT | MOT2 | FUJ2 | 23rd* | NC* |
2024 | PONOS Racing | Ferrari 296 GT3 | GT300 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT |
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | AF Corse | GTD | Ferrari 296 GT3 | Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6 | DAY | SEB | LBH | LGA | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS | PET |
Mika Juhani Salo is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2002. His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for six races, scoring two podiums and contributing to Ferrari's constructors' championship win. He also won the GT2 class in the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Andrea Bertolini is an Italian professional racing driver currently driving for AF Corse in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is the official test driver of the Maserati factory. Bertolini began racing at a young age, working as the youngest ever test driver for Ferrari at 19, followed by work in the experimental and development department. He also participated in the development of the Maserati MC12, in which he has enjoyed racing success winning for three times the FIA GT Championship in GT1 class, and also claiming the first edition of the FIA GT1 World Championship. He won the WEC championship in GTE Am category in 2015 and in the same year he won the 24H of Le Mans in the same class.
Alessandro Pier Guidi is a racing driver from Italy. A Ferrari factory driver since 2017, he won the LMGTE Pro FIA World Endurance Championship in 2017, 2021 and 2022, the 2019 and 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGTE Pro class, and claimed the 24 Hours of Spa in 2021, as well as taking an overall win at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans along with James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.
Johnny Mowlem is a professional British racing driver. During his career Mowlem was ranked amongst the best sports car/GT drivers in the world. Mowlem famously fell off his chair whilst commentating at the 2023 Le Mans 24hr race, having competed in every class of world championship sports car racing.
AF Corse is an Italian auto racing team founded by former racing driver Amato Ferrari in 1995 in Piacenza. Strongly linked to the Maserati and Ferrari brands, AF Corse currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, GT World Challenge Europe, European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series, and International GT Open, and are four-time champions of the GT2 class of the former FIA GT Championship. The team has also entered cars under Advanced Engineering, AT Racing, PeCom Racing, Spirit of Race, Formula Racing, 8Star Motorsports and MR Racing, and in association with Michael Waltrip Racing.
James John Calado is a British professional racing driver from England who is competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and other selected GT races for AF Corse. He won the LMGTE Pro class of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship and 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans, and overall victory in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans. He drove for Panasonic Jaguar Racing in Formula E. His career has been funded by the Racing Steps Foundation.
William Jonathan Richard Stevens is a British racing driver, who formerly competed in Formula One, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Renault Championships. In Formula One, he made his debut at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Caterham F1, replacing Marcus Ericsson for the double points race. During the 2015 season he competed with the Manor Marussia F1 Team.
Mikkel Mac Jensen is a Danish racing driver.
Alberto Cerqui is an Italian racing driver. He has competed in the World Touring Car Championship.
David Cleto Fumanelli is an Italian racing driver and racing coach.
Jonathan Robert Lester is a racing driver from New Zealand, competing in various GT3 and touring car championships throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The 2016 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-fourth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the twelfth season under the name Super GT. It was the thirty-fourth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 10 and ended on November 13, after 8 races.
The 2018 Autobacs Super GT Series was the twenty-sixth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship including the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the fourteenth season the series has competed under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-sixth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship. The season began on April 8 and ended on November 11, after 8 races.
Car Guy Racing is an auto racing team based in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, established by Takeshi Kimura in 2016. The team currently competes in the European Le Mans Series under collaboration with Kessel Racing, fielding the No. 9 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo in the GT300 class and the No. 57 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo in the LMGTE class respectively. Car Guy is also scheduled to compete in GT World Challenge Asia with a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo in the GT3 class.
The 2020 Super GT Series was motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-eighth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era and the sixteenth season the series to compete under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-eighth overall season of a JAF national sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.
The 2021 Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the twenty-ninth season of the Japan Automobile Federation Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) era, and the seventeenth season under the Super GT name. It was the thirty-ninth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship, dating back to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship.
Ritomo Miyata is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing who is currently competing in the 2024 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Rodin Motorsport and the 2024 European Le Mans Series for Cool Racing. He is the reigning champion of the Super GT and Super Formula championships, having won both titles in 2023 with TOM'S, and previously won the 2020 Super Formula Lights championship, as well as back-to-back titles in the FIA F4 Japanese Championship.
Alessio Rovera is an Italian racing driver. He is a Ferrari factory driver and currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship with AF Corse.
The 2022 Super GT Series was a motor racing championship based in Japan for grand touring cars, sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and run by the GT Association (GTA). It was the thirtieth season of the JAF Super GT Championship which includes the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship era, and the eighteenth season under the Super GT name. It was also the fortieth overall season of a national JAF sportscar championship dating back to the All Japan Endurance/Sports Prototype Championship.
Lilou Wadoux-Ducellier is a French professional racing driver who currently races for PONOS Racing in the GT300 class of the Super GT Series and for AF Corse in the LMP2 class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. She is the first woman to ever win an FIA World Endurance Championship race and the first woman to drive a Le Mans Hypercar, having previously starred in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup and competed in TCR Europe. Before signing for Ferrari as a factory driver in 2023, she raced in the WEC for Richard Mille's Signatech-run LMP2 team.