| Yuji Kunimoto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality: |  Japanese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 12 September 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Racing Licence: | FIA Platinum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current Series: | Super GT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Year: | 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current Team: | Racing Project Bandoh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Car Number: | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former Teams: | Kraft, Team LeMans | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starts: | 87 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins: | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Poles: | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums: | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Finish: | 4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year: | 2016
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is a Japanese racing driver for Toyota Gazoo Racing who is currently competing in Super GT for Racing Project Bandoh and in Super Formula for Team Impul.[1] He is the champion of the 2016 Super Formula Championship and the 2010 Japanese Formula 3 Championship.[2]
He is the younger brother of 2008 Macau Grand Prix winner Keisuke Kunimoto.
From 2009, 2010 Kunimoto competed in Japanese Formula 3 Championship with TOM'S where he clinched third place, and as a champion the next year.
Kunimoto made his debut in the series' GT300 Class with apr on 2009 with Takuto Iguchi. the next 2 seasons he paired with Morio Nitta. The latter pair clinch 1 win and 4 podium during 2 season in 2010 & 2011.
Kunimoto then step up to GT500 with Kraft in 2012 with Andrea Caldarelli new to the series, as the pair clinch 1 podiun in the season. Kunimoto then moves to Team LeMans partnering Kazuya Oshima for three seasons. Both pair only won once from 2013, and five podiums. For 2016, Kunimoto moves to WedsSport Bandoh alongside Yuhi Sekiguchi.[3] He won only once on that season. After that he is the main driver for Bandoh for four seasons, with Kenta Yamashita, Sho Tsuboi, Ritomo Miyata, and Sena Sakaguchi as his teammate.[4] [5] [6] [7] Kunimoto wins again with Sakaguchi in 2-23 at Suzuka Circuit. For 2024, he stays with the same team and teammate.[8]
Kunimoto made his debut in Formula Nippon in 2011 with Cerumo・INGING as a single car entry.[9] Kunimoto then won the series title in 2016 with his maiden two wins and four podiums, as he beats Andre Lotterer by three points. After that he did not win another title, and race till now. After eight seasons with Cerumo INGING, he moves to Kondo Racing in 2019, then KCMG.[6] For 2024, Kunimoto moves to Team Impul with Theo Pourchaire.[1]
Kunimoto made a wildcard debut with Toyota Gazoo Racing for 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans. He paired with Jose Maria Lopez, and Nicolas Lapierre. The car only completed 160 laps, and did not finish the race.[10]
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | apr | Toyota Corolla Axio | GT300 | OKA | SUZ | FUJ | SEP | SUG | SUZ | FUJ | AUT | MOT | 10th | 32 |
| 2010 | SUZ | OKA | FUJ | SEP | SUG | SUZ | FUJ | MOT | 5th | 47 | ||||
| 2011 | OKA | FUJ | SEP | SUG | SUZ | FUJ | AUT | MOT | 7th | 38 | ||||
| 2012 | Lexus Team KeePer Kraft | Lexus SC430 | GT500 | OKA | FUJ | SEP | SUG | SUZ | FUJ | AUT | MOT | 13th | 28 | |
| 2013 | Lexus Team LeMans ENEOS | OKA | FUJ | SEP | SUG | SUZ | FUJ | AUT | MOT | 5th | 52 | |||
| 2014 | Lexus RC F | OKA | FUJ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | SUZ | BUR | MOT | 7th | 44 | |||
| 2015 | OKA | FUJ | CHA | FUJ | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT | 9th | 32 | ||||
| 2016 | Lexus Team WedsSport BANDOH | OKA | FUJ | SUG | FUJ | SUZ | CHA | MOT | MOT | 4th | 58 | |||
| 2017 | Lexus LC 500 | OKA | FUJ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | SUZ | CHA | MOT | 14th | 22 | |||
| 2018 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | CHA | FUJ | SUG | AUT | MOT | 11th | 32 | ||||
| 2019 | OKA ‡ | FUJ | SUZ | CHA | FUJ | SUG | AUT | MOT | 11th | 27.5 | ||||
| 2020 | TGR Team WedsSport BANDOH | Toyota GR Supra GT500 | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | 17th | 10 | ||
| 2021 | OKA | FUJ | MOT | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT | FUJ | 11th | 36 | ||||
| 2022 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT | 11th | 28.5 | ||||
| 2023 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT | 12th | 30 | ||||
| 2024 | OKA | FUJ | SUZ | FUJ | SUZ | SUG | AUT | MOT |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Project μ/cerumo・INGING | SUZ | AUT | FUJ | MOT | SUZ | SUG | MOT1 | 10th | 6.5 | ||||
| 2012 | SUZ | MOT | AUT | FUJ | MOT | SUG | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 13th | 2 | ||||
| 2013 | P.mu/cerumo・INGING | SUZ | AUT | FUJ | MOT | SUG | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 10th | 10 | ||||
| 2014 | SUZ | FUJ1 | FUJ2 | FUJ | MOT | AUT | SUG | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 7th | 19.5 | |||
| 2015 | SUZ | OKA | FUJ | MOT | AUT | SUG | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 9th | 7.5 | ||||
| 2016 | SUZ | OKA | FUJ | MOT | OKA1 | OKA2 | SUG | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 1st | 33 | |||
| 2017 | SUZ | OKA1 | OKA2 | FUJ | MOT | AUT | SUG | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | 8th | 16 | |||
| 2018 | JMS P.mu/cerumo・INGING | SUZ1 | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUZ2 | 8th | 11.5 | ||||
| 2019 | Kondō Racing | SUZ1 | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | OKA | SUZ2 | 17th | 5 | ||||
| 2020 | carrozzeria Team KCMG | MOT | OKA | SUG | AUT | SUZ1 | SUZ2 | FUJ | 9th | 29 | ||||
| 2021 | FUJ | SUZ1 | AUT | SUG | MOT1 | MOT2 | SUZ2 | 18th | 3 | |||||
| 2022 | KCMG | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | MOT | SUZ | SUZ | 16th | 10 | |
| 2023 | Kids com KCMG | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | SUZ | SUZ | 17th | 7 | ||
| 2024 | Itochu Enex Team Impul | SUZ1 | AUT | SUG | FUJ | MOT | FUJ | FUJ | SUZ | SUZ | - | - |