Italian racer Kei Cozzolino is to replace fellow Italian Alberto Cerqui at ROAL Motorsport for the World Touring Car Championship race in Macau, it has been announced.
Cozzolino will step into the second ROAL BMW alongside regular driver Tom Coronel for the end of season Guia race. Cozzolino, 24, was born in Japan but holds Italian nationality, and has previously been racing in Japanese Formula 3 and the Formula Nippon Championship.
The Italian raced fourth in the 2009 Japanese F3 series before moving to Formula Nippon in 2010, where he finished 10th in the championship, taking a best result of fourth. Cozzolino has previous experience of the Macau circuit, having participated in the Formula 3 race there in 2008 and 2009.
Cerqui has competed in all of the 2012 WTCC events so far, with the 20 year-old taking a best result of fourth in Slovakia. Cerqui is currently 13th in the 2012 WTCC driver’s championship and is positioned as the second best rookie behind Alex MacDowall.