Keisuke Kunimoto
Keisuke Kunimoto | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth year and age Yokohama, Japan |
| Other names | Lee Kyung-woo |
| Occupation | Race car driver |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | Winner of 2008 Macau Grand Prix |
, also recognized as Lee Kyung-woo (), is a race car driver of Japanese and Zainichi Korean descent, holding a racing license issued in Japan.
His maternal lineage is Japanese, while his father, Yoshihiro Lee (李好廣、이호광 Lee Ho-gwang), who is also known by the name Yoshihiro Kunimoto, secured the All Japan Karting Championship title in 1983. His uncle, Yoshihiko Lee (이호언 Lee Ho-eon), achieved this same championship twice, in 1980 and 1981. Additionally, his younger sibling, Yuji, pursues a career as a professional driver.
Racing career
Kunimoto initiated his karting journey in 2001 at the age of 12. Following his triumph in the FA Class of the All Japan Karting Championship in 2004, he earned a Toyota scholarship to attend the Formula Toyota Racing School. His debut in car racing occurred during the 2005 Formula Toyota season at Tsukuba Circuit.
Between 2006 and 2007, he participated in both Formula Toyota and Formula Challenge Japan, capturing the Formula Challenge Japan title with three wins and securing second place in Formula Toyota in 2007.
In 2008, as part of the Toyota Young Drivers Program (TDP), Kunimoto competed with TOM'S in the All-Japan Formula Three series and drove for apr in Super GT, concluding his first Formula Three season as runner-up.
2008 Macau Grand Prix
At the conclusion of that season, Kunimoto claimed victory at the prestigious Macau F3 Grand Prix with TOM'S, becoming only the second Japanese driver to win this event after Takuma Sato.
Formula Nippon
During the 2009 Formula Nippon season, Kunimoto represented Team LeMans, finishing the championship with one point and placing last in the standings.
A1 Grand Prix
Kunimoto was part of A1 Team Korea for the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season. Although slated to make his debut at the South African round, he was barred from competing due to political controversies related to a slogan displayed on his vehicle.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
In the closing two rounds of the 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, Kunimoto joined Epsilon Euskadi, substituting for Dani Clos at both Nürburgring and Ciudad del Motor de Aragón circuits. He continued with Epsilon Euskadi for the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, teaming up with Albert Costa, who had won the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championship in 2009.
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Formula Toyota | TDP Scholarship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14th |
| 2006 | Formula Toyota | TDP Scholarship FT | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 7th |
| Formula Challenge Japan | TDP Scholarship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 7th | |
| 2007 | Formula Challenge Japan | TDP Scholarship | 18 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 189 | 1st |
| Formula Toyota | A Project Hanashima | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 98 | 2nd | |
| 2008 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | TOM'S | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 219 | 2nd |
| 2008 Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| Super GT - GT300 | apr | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 9th | |
| 2008-09 | 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season | A1 Team Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4‡ | 19th‡ |
| 2009 | 2009 Formula Nippon Championship | Team LeMans | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13th |
| 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | Navi Team Goh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF | |
| 2009 Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Epsilon Euskadi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32nd | |
| 2010 | 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Epsilon Euskadi | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 22nd |
‡ Team standings
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:24hLM | Template:Country data JPNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Navi Team Goh | Template:Country data JPNTemplate:Namespace detect showall Seiji Ara Germany Sascha Maassen |
Porsche RS Spyder Evo | LMP2 | 339 | DNF | DNF |
| Template:Center | |||||||
Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results
(key) (Races in bold signify pole position; those in italics denote fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Epsilon Euskadi | CAT 1 |
CAT 2 |
SPA 1 |
SPA 2 |
MON 1 |
HUN 1 |
HUN 2 |
SIL 1 |
SIL 2 |
BUG 1 |
BUG 2 |
ALG 1 |
ALG 2 |
NÜR 1 16 |
NÜR 2 13 |
ALC 1 17 |
ALC 2 21 |
32nd | 0 |
| 2010 | Epsilon Euskadi | ALC 1 Ret |
ALC 2 14 |
SPA 1 15 |
SPA 2 16 |
MON 1 18 |
BRN 1 5 |
BRN 2 Ret |
MAG 1 16 |
[[Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours#MAG 2]] 18 |
HUN 1 9 |
HUN 2 15 |
HOC 1 12 |
HOC 2 13 |
SIL 1 12 |
SIL 2 13 |
CAT 1 11 |
CAT 2 18 |
22nd | 8 |
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External links
- Official website of Keisuke Kunimoto
- Driver profile – Official All-Japan Formula Three site
- Driver profile – Super GT official portal
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Pages with broken file links
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- Formula Nippon drivers
- World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers
- Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers
- Japanese people of Korean descent
- Japanese racing drivers
- South Korean people of Japanese descent
- South Korean emigrants to Japan
- South Korean racing drivers
- Racing drivers from Yokohama
- Super GT drivers
- Zainichi Korean sportspeople
- 1989 births
- Living people
- Formula Challenge Japan drivers
- Epsilon Euskadi drivers
- Team LeMans drivers
- TOM'S drivers
- Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers
- Team Goh Motorsports drivers