, also known as Lee Kyung-woo is a Japanese/Zainichi Korean race car driver who raced with a Japanese racing license.[1]
His mother is Japanese. His father, Yoshihiro Lee (李好廣、이호광 Lee Ho-gwang), also known as Yoshihiro Kunimoto, is the 1983 All Japan Karting Champion and his uncle, Yoshihiko Lee (이호언 Lee Ho-eon), won the same karting championship twice in 1980 and 1981. His younger brother, Yuji, is also a race car driver.
Kunimoto began karting in 2001 when he was 12. After winning the All Japan Karting Championship FA Class in 2004, he entered Formula Toyota Racing School and took scholarship of Toyota. He began his car racing career in the 2005 Formula Toyota season, at the seventh round of the season in Tsukuba.
He competed in Formula Toyota and Formula Challenge Japan in 2006 and 2007, and won the championship of Formula Challenge Japan with three wins and ended runner-up in Formula Toyota in 2007.
In 2008, he raced in the All-Japan Formula Three for TOM'S and in the Super GT for apr, as a Toyota young Drivers Program (TDP) driver. He finished runner-up in the first Formula Three season.
At the end of the season, Kunimoto went to Macau with TOM'S and won the Macau F3 Grand Prix, becoming the second Japanese driver to win the race after Takuma Sato.
Kunimoto competed in the 2009 Formula Nippon season for Team LeMans, finishing last in the standings with one point.
Kunimoto joined A1 Team Korea for the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season, and was set to make his debut at the South African round, but political issues regarding a slogan on his car, prevented him from racing on that weekend.[2] [3]
Kunimoto joined Epsilon Euskadi for the last two Formula Renault 3.5 Series rounds of the 2009 season. He replaced Spaniard Dani Clos in the team's line-up at the Nürburgring and at the season finale at the new Ciudad del Motor de Aragón circuit.[4]
He returned with the team for the 2010 season, partnering 2009 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion Albert Costa.[5]
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Formula Toyota | TDP Scolarship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14th |
| 2006 | Formula Toyota | TDP Scolarship FT | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 7th |
| Formula Challenge Japan | TDP Scolarship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 47 | 7th | |
| 2007 | Formula Challenge Japan | TDP Scolarship | 18 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 189 | 1st |
| Formula Toyota | A Project Hanashima | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 98 | 2nd | |
| 2008 | Japanese Formula 3 Championship | 18 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 219 | 2nd | |
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| Super GT - GT300 | apr | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 9th | |
| 2008-09 | A1 Grand Prix | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4‡ | 19th‡ | |
| 2009 | Formula Nippon | Team LeMans | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13th |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | Navi Team Goh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | DNF | |
| Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Epsilon Euskadi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32nd | |
| 2010 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Epsilon Euskadi | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 22nd |
‡ Team standings
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | nowrap | 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 | NÜR 2 | ALC 1 | ALC 2 | 32nd | 0 |
| 2010 | nowrap | Epsilon Euskadi | ALC 1 | ALC 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | MON 1 | BRN 1 | BRN 2 | MAG 1 | MAG 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 22nd | 8 |