Health before all. Victim of a very serious accident after a collision with a GT300 during the last round of the Super GT contested in Sugo, Naoki Yamamoto will not be able to finish the Super Formula season or the grand touring championship.
Through a press release, Team Kunimitsu, the team with which he is entered in Super GT, indicated that Naoki Yamamoto was once again admitted to hospital for in-depth examinations. He notably complained of neck pain. These revealed a subluxation between the C1 and C2 vertebrae, as well as a spinal cord injury.
Faced with such a situation, the Japanese driver, crowned twice in Super GT and three times in Super Formula, will not be able to finish the 2023 season as confirmed by his respective teams, Team Kunimitsu and Nakajima Racing.
Concerning the SuperGT, Naoki Yamamoto will be replaced by Iori Kimura, junior driver of the Honda Formula Dream Project, who will share the Honda NSX-GT No. 100 with Tadasuke Makino for the last two rounds of the year at Autopolis (October 14-15) and in Motegi (4-5 November). Finally, Hiroki Atsu will take his place in the Super Formula final at Suzuka (October 27-29).
Naoki Yamamoto, for his part, will continue his rehabilitation in order to regain his form for the 2024 season.
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