Kei Cozzolino

Last updated
Kei Francesco Cozzolino
Kei Cozzolino Super GT 2020.jpg
Born (1987-11-09) 9 November 1987 (age 36)
Nationality Flag of Japan.svg Japan
OccupationRacing driver
FIA World Endurance Championship
Racing licence FIA Gold Driver.png FIA Gold
Years active2019 – 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.

Contents

Early life

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]

Racing career

Karting

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.

Junior Formula

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.

Formula 3

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.

Formula Nippon (Super Formula)

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 ]

World Touring Car Championship

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.

Asian Le Mans Series

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.

24 hours of Le Mans

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.

FIA World Endurance Championship

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.

Super GT

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.

Racing record

Formula Toyota results

YearTeam1234567Driver's ChampionshipPoints
2007 Le Beausset Motorsports FUJ
5
SUZ
2
MOT
3
SEN1
2
SEN2
1
SUG
1
FUJ
1
1st103

Japanese Formula 3 results

YearTeam123456789101112131415161718Driver's ChampionshipPoints
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
6th133
2009Toda 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
4th66

Formula Nippon results

YearEntrant12345678Pos.Points
2010 Team LeMans SUZ
Ret
MOT
10
FUJ
8
MOT
13
SUG
7
AUT
4
SUZ1
13
SUZ2
14
10th8

Complete Blancpain GT Series Asia & GT World Challenge Asia results

YearTeamCarClass123456789101112Pos.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 20th25
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 NC0
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
1st126
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 27th16

* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

YearEntrantClassCar12345678Pos.Points
2019-20 MR Racing LMGTE

Am

Ferrari 488 GTE Evo SIL
3
FUJ
4
SHA
7
BHR
7
COA
10
SPA LMS
Ret
14th45
Red River Sport BHR
10
2023 Kessel Racing LMGTE

Am

Ferrari 488 GTE Evo SEB POR SPA LMS
9
MNZ
Ret
28th0
AF Corse FUJ
12
BHR
11

24 Hours of Le Mans results

YearTeamCo-DriversCarClassLapsPos.Class
Pos.
2019 Flag of Japan.svg Car Guy Racing Flag of Japan.svg Takeshi Kimura
Flag of France.svg Côme Ledogar
Ferrari 488 GTE GTE
Am
33235th5th
2020 Flag of Japan.svg MR Racing Flag of Monaco.svg Vincent Abril
Flag of Japan.svg Takeshi Kimura
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am
172DNFDNF
2023 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Kessel Racing Flag of Japan.svg Yorikatsu Tsujiko
Flag of Japan.svg Naoki Yokomizo
Ferrari 488 GTE Evo GTE
Am
30338th9th

Super GT results

YearTeamCarClass12345678DCPoints
2016 Lamborghini Team Direction Shift Lamborghini Huracan GT3 GT300 OKA
16
FUJ
17
SUG
FUJ
SUZ
CHA
MOT
MOT
NC0
2018 CarGuy Racing Honda NSX GT3 GT300 OKA
FUJ
26
SUZ
BUR
FUJ
SUG
AUT
MOT
NC0
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
28th2
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.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearEntrantClassMakeEngine12345678910RankPoints
2024 AF Corse GTD Ferrari 296 GT3 Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6 DAY SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET

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References

  1. "Intervista a Kei Cozzolino - S.FORMULA LIGHTS". www.italiaracing.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  2. "Formula Toyota Round 2". Toyota Motorsports. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  3. "2007 Round 1". Formula Challenge Japan. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  4. "Alberto Cerqui replaced by Kei Cozzolino for WTCC Macau". Autosport. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  5. "Asian Le Mans Series Champions Crowned in Malaysia | Asian Le Mans Series". Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Formula Toyota
Champion

2007
Succeeded by
None
(Series ended)
Preceded by
Jesse Krohn
Jun-San Chen
Asian Le Mans Series
GT Champion

2018–19
With: James Calado & Takeshi Kimura
Succeeded by
Incumbent