Kei Francesco Cozzolino (born in

Shinjuku is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administration ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, November 9, 1987) is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...

series wit
PACIFIC NAC CARGUY Racing Team
with th
Ferrari 488 GT3 EVO.

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 formulae

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 Sendai Hi-Land Raceway was a motor racing circuit in 12 Hayasaka, Shinkawa, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. In the 1990s, Sendai hosted rounds of the Japanese Touring Car Championship and Japanese Grand Touring Championship. It also ...

. Cozzolino finished tenth out of eleven finishers. In 2007, he competed in the

Formula Challenge Japan Formula Challenge Japan was an open wheel racing series based in Japan. The first season was in 2006 and carried on from the defunct Formula Dream series. It is promoted as a young driver development project jointly by Honda, Toyota and Nissan a ...

and the Formula Toyota classes. In the Formula Challenge Japan, supported by

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

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 ...

and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

, 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. In the final season of the Formula Toyota, Cozzolino won the title. Cozzolino was strong all season long, but

Keisuke Kunimoto is a Japanese/Zainichi Korean race car driver who races with Japanese racing license. His mother is Japanese. His father, Yoshihiro Ri, also known as Yoshihiro Kunimoto, is the 1983 All Japan Karting Champion and his uncle, Yoshihiko Ri, won same ...

had the lead before the final round of the season. At the final round of the season at

Fuji International Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and n ...

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 was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series pro ...

driving Now Motor Sport in a

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

F308. As a result of winning the championship Cozzolino tested for the Toyota

Tom's is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT, Super Formula and Super Formu ...

Formula Nippon The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as being the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional motorsports in Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and ...

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

powered entry Toda Racing. He achieved his first win in Formula Three during the round at

Twin Ring Motegi Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...

. 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

, the highest racing class in Japan. Cozzolino participated in a

powered

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

FN09 entered by

Team LeMans Le Mans Ltd., headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo is an automobile parts manufacturer founded in 1967. The original company name was Le Mans Chamber of Commerce. The company is mainly engaged in the development and sales of motorsport parts and the ...

. His best finish was a fourth place at

Autopolis is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the Northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref> Tsurumaki ordered 30 Buic ...

. During the non-championship Fuji Sprint Cup he achieved his first pole-position and eventually finished tenth in the standings.

World Touring Car Championship

After more than a year without racing Cozzolino was announced as a replacement of

Alberto Cerqui Alberto Cerqui (born 20 June 1992, in Brescia) is an Italian racing driver. He has competed in the World Touring Car Championship. Career Single seaters After winning titles in karting, Cerqui graduated to single-seater racing in 2009, racing in ...

for the

Guia Race of Macau The WTCR Race of Macau, previously Guia Race of Macau and WTCC Guia Race of Macau, is an international touring car race, and currently a round of the World Touring Car Cup. It is held on the temporary 6.2 km Guia Circuit on the streets of Ma ...

. 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 The Ferrari 488 (Type F142M) is a mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari. The car replaced the 458, being the first mid-engine Ferrari to use a turbocharged V8 since the F40. It was succeeded by the Ferra ...

GT3 of the privately run CAR GUY team, with fellow team mates Takeshi Kimura and

James Calado James John Calado (born 13 June 1989) is a British professional racing driver from England, currently 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 ...

, win all four legs of the 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series. The team achieves an auto-invitation to enter into the

2019 24 hours of Le Mans The 87th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''87e 24 Heures du Mans'') was an 24 hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance cars held from 15 to 16 June 2019 at the Circuit de la Sarthe, close to Le ...

24 hours of Le Mans

Cozzolino has made 2 appearances in Le Mans (2019 and 2020). 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, he will compete with the Kessel Racing's Ferrari 488 GTE EVO number 74, in an all-Japanese drivers lineup.

FIA World Endurance Championship

After his remarkable achievement in 2019, Cozzolino signed to drive for the MR Racing team in FIA WEC 2019-2020 season. Pairing up with

Olivier Beretta Olivier Beretta (born 23 November 1969) is a professional racing driver from Monaco who raced in Formula One in 1994 for the Larrousse team, partnering Érik Comas. He participated in 10 Grands Prix, debuting on 27 March 1994. He scored no champi ...

and Motoaki Ishikawa, the team's best finish was 3rd in the opening round at Silverstone. However later into the season, MR Racing has withdrawn from the series due to Covid-19. Cozzolino returns to the final round in Bahrain with Red River Sport.

Super GT

His debut in Super GT was at his promotion to become
Lamborghini Young Driver
in 2016. Cozzolino participates in only 2 rounds with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of the Direction Racing team. He returns to the series in 2020, to replace

Nicki Thiim Nicki Thiim (born 17 April 1989 in Sønderborg, Denmark) is a Danish professional racing driver, and Aston Martin Racing works driver in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Biography After competing in karting, Thiim won the 2006 Danish For ...

in the Pacific
D'station Racing team's
Aston Martin Vantage GT3, pairing up with the team's ace driver

Tomonobu Fujii is a Japanese racing driver. Racing Kart / Formula race Tomonobu Fujii entered the second-hand Racing Kart in 1994 and made his debut in local races when he was 13 years old. He won the championship right away and continued to display his ta ...

. 2021 he debuts the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo with th
PACIFIC NAC CARGUY Racing Team
pairing up with 2012 Super GT 300 Champion

Naoki Yokomizo is a Japanese racing driver. Racing Record Complete Formula Nippon results ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) References 1980 births Living people Japanese racing drivers Jap ...

Racing record

Formula Toyota results

Japanese Formula 3 results

Formula Nippon results

Complete Blancpain GT Series Asia & GT World Challenge Asia results

^* Season still in progress.

FIA World Endurance Championship results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Super GT results

^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

KEI COZZOLINO official WEBSITE

Career statistics at DriverDB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cozzolino, Kei 1987 births Living people People from Shinjuku Japanese people of Italian descent Japanese emigrants to Italy Formula Challenge Japan drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers Formula Nippon drivers World Touring Car Championship drivers Super GT drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Team LeMans drivers Euronova Racing drivers AF Corse drivers Le Mans Cup drivers Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers