James Dominic Grunwell (born 4 February 1989) is a British racing driver, who has lived most of his life in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

2003

In early 2003, James entered his first official race where the Champion Racing Team was formed under the support of Champion Ferodo. At the age of 14, James entered The Thailand Under 18 100cc Veloil Challenge and won its championship. He then later entered the Thailand Nationals in the

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

class and won 2 out of 4 races with podiums in the other 2. He continued to enter kart races with the 2003 kart, and still managed to finish the season 4th in the internationally recognized Intercon ‘A’ Class. James finished on the podium in every race he entered.

2004

Towards the end of 2004, James had an opportunity of a test drive with AIM Racing, one of Thailand’s leading racing teams. He passed with flying colors as the fastest rookie ever to take the test. He was immediately entered for the last two races of 2004 as a guest driver. He drove a specially designed Thai built car that ran with 12

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...

, 1600cc,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

racing engines that produces top speeds of up to 160 km/h. He competed in 4 out of 6 races in the new season, finishing first twice and had a

podium A podium (plural podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek ''πόδι'' (foot). In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used ...

place in the rest. In December 2004, James was invited for a test drive in a

Formula BMW Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young ...

, with the Meritus Racing Team in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. Again he passed the test and was offered a drive with them in 2005. He entered the

scholarship programme and missed out by one place for the scholarship. James and his sponsors decided to concentrate on karting in Thailand.

2004–2006

Grunwell won all the races in

Rotax Max Junior series. He later entered the World Finals in Langkawi for

Rotax Max The Rotax Max 125 Engine is a two-stroke engine designed by Rotax, part of Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), to provide cost-effective but high speed kart racing. Built in Austria, the engine is liquid cooled, equipped with a balance shaft ...

. In Langkawi, James finished in the top 5 in all races and started 4th on the grid in the final. He was the highest placed Thai driver ever. At the end of 2005, James again joined the

Asia scholarship program and this time – having matured a little and with some more experience – passed with flying colors. He won one of 4 prestigious BMW Scholarship prizes worth USD 50,000 and managed to get bonus points for setting the fastest lap out of 20 competitors. In 2006 Meritus Racing Team took James on as a Rookie driver to compete in the

Asia series where he finished 3rd in the Rookie Championship and 4th overall.

2007–2008

In 2007 Grunwell spent a second year in Formula BMW Asia for Meritus Racing Team. He finished third in points with three wins among 12 podium finishes. In 2008 Grunwell raced in

Formula V6 Asia Formula Asia V6 Renault, renamed Formula V6 Asia in 2007 by Motorsport Asia, was launched in 2006 and regulated by Motorsport Asia. It was a Formula Renault 3.5 that include also World Series by Renault and the former Formula Renault V6 Eurocup. ...

for Team Meritus and won the championship, capturing four wins and finishing on the podium in all but two of the twelve races. However, despite the 2008 success, Grunwell has not appeared in a professional motor race since that time.

Advertising and sponsorship

All through 2005 and 2006, James has been featured in many magazines and newspapers. James also appeared with his Concept Car at the Bangkok 7th Rugby Tournament on behalf of his sponsors Champion Ferodo, where he did a demonstration drive by and helped present the prize to the winners of the tournament. In 2007, The Pizza Company became one of the main sponsors for James in the

Asia Series followed by Comcon Services Thailand and Image Makers Asia, and James has been actively promoting both companies in Thailand and abroad. James is based in

and is currently racing throughout

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

where he currently leads the Formula BMW Asian Championship after winning races in

and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Sources

*Boudreau, Mar

F1 Prospect, January 28, 2006, Accessed July 31,

External links

Official Web SiteJames' Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunwell, James 1983 births Living people British racing drivers British expatriates in Thailand Formula V6 Asia drivers Formula BMW Asia drivers Formula BMW ADAC drivers Team Meritus drivers