James Munro (racing driver)

James Munro (born 20 January 1997 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand former racing driver. Munro won championships in junior formulae such as Formula Ford and Formula Pilota China. James is the son of Mark Munro, a former Toyota Racing Series racing driver.

James Munro
NationalityNew Zealand New Zealander
Born (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997
Christchurch
Related toMark Munro (father)
Previous series
2014–2016
2014
2013		Toyota Racing Series
Formula Pilota China
New Zealand Formula Ford
Championship titles
2014
2013		Formula Pilota China
New Zealand Formula Ford

Racing career

After his New Zealand kart career Munro started racing cars in 2013. Racing a Mygale Munro won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship winning ten out of fifteen races.[1] He graduated into the fastest racing series in New Zealand, the Toyota Racing Series. Munro won one race at Timaru. The young driver finished seventh in the series championship. He was the second best scoring Kiwi, behind Damon Leitch who placed third. In the regular season Munro competed in the Formula Pilota China series. The series, using Tatuus FA010 Formula Abarth chassis with Volkswagen engines, ran on Asian circuits in China, South-Korea and Malaysia. Munro won the championship with Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG, a team headed by former racing driver John O'Hara.[2] The Kiwi driver started the season with six straight race wins at Zhuhai and Shanghai. Munro won two more races at both circuits later in the season claiming the championship.

For 2015 Munro started the season again in the Toyota Racing Series. The series introduced a new car, the Tatuus FT50, with a new chassis and updated aerodynamics. Munro was less successful with only one podium finish, a second place at Teretonga Park. In the strong international field Munro placed ninth in the championship standings, again the second Kiwi behind Damon Leitch.[3] During the regular summer season Munro started in the inaugural F4 Japanese Championship with KCMG. Initially announced competing the full season, Munro left the series after two rounds.[4] Munro also competed in the Sepang 12 Hours along with Martin Rump, Afiq Yazid and Yuan Bo in a Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo. The team finished eleventh overall, winning the Pro-Am class.[5] At the end of the season Munro rejoined KCMG to race the season opener of the 2015–16 Asian Le Mans Series. At Fuji Speedway Munro was joined by Christian Ried and team principal Paul Ip. in the GT Am class finishing eighth overall, fifth in class.[6]

His third season in the Toyota Racing Series was the most successful. Munro scored three podium finishes and finished seventh in the season standings.[7] The New Zealander signed with Team Pelfrey to compete in the American USF2000 series. During pre-season testing at Barber Motorsports Park finished second in the fifth test session.[8] After two unsuccessful events at St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park, Munro left the series.

Personal

Munro is a graduate from Medbury primary school. Munro has studied at Christ's College, Christchurch.[9]

Racing record

Career Summary
Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2012-13 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship N/A 15 10 4 6 12 992 1st
2014 Toyota Racing Series Neale Motorsport 15 1 1 0 2 587 7th
Formula Masters China Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG 18 8 5 6 11 215 1st
2015 Toyota Racing Series Giles Motorsport 15 0 0 0 1 522 9th
F4 Japanese Championship KCMG 4 0 0 0 0 10 19th
2015-16 Asian Le Mans Series - GT KCMG 1 1 1 1 1 26 3rd
2016 Toyota Racing Series Giles Motorsport 15 0 0 1 3 621 7th
U.S. F2000 National Championship Team Pelfrey 4 0 0 0 0 20 23rd

USF2000 National Championship
Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2016 Team Pelfrey STP
18		 STP
21		 BAR
11		 BAR
23		 IMS IMS LOR ROA ROA TOR TOR MDO MDO MDO LAG LAG 23rd 20

References
  1. "2013 Formula Ford New Zealand". DriverDB.com. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  2. "Kiwi James Munro signs for Formula Masters China Series". Motornews.co.nz. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  3. "Toyota Racing Series New Zealand 2015 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  4. "JAMES MUNRO SIGNS WITH KCMG FOR FIA JAPANESE F4". KCMG. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  5. "Munro in GTC Class win at Sepang 12 Hour". nzmotorracing. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  6. "Classification" (PDF). FIA WEC. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  7. "Toyota Racing Series New Zealand 2016 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  8. "2016 CHAMPIONSHIP BARBER TEST RESULTS". USF2000. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  9. "My Story". James Munro. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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