Injured Rasmussen in Doubt for Okayama After Suzuka Crash

Oliver Rasmussen’s participation in next month’s opening round of the new SUPER GT season at Okayama has been plunged into doubt after he sustained a back injury in a crash during last weekend’s Super Formula round at Suzuka.

The Danish driver, who joined the apr Lexus team over the winter after losing his FIA World Endurance Championship drive with Hertz Team JOTA, was ruled out of his Super Formula debut following a crash at Degner Curve in Friday practice.

That left Rasmussen with a fractured lumbar vertebra, an injury that usually has an estimated recovery time of one to two months, or longer in some cases.

It means Rasmussen is certain to miss this week’s first of two official pre-season SUPER GT tests at Okayama, where he was due to share the No. 31 apr Lexus LC500h with his regular teammates Miki Koyama and Yuki Nemoto.

Koyama and Nemoto will likely handle testing duties as a duo, and Rasmussen is also unlikely to appear in the second official test at Fuji Speedway at the end of March.

Apr boss Hiroto Kaneso told Sportscar365 that he is expecting Rasmussen’s recovery to take up to two months, which would make it unlikely he will be able to participate in the opening round of the season at Okayama on April 12-13.

A more realistic timeframe for the 24-year-old to return to action would be the following race at Fuji, which is due to take place on May 3-4.

Rasmussen made his apr debut in a GTE-organized test at Fuji in February and got further mileage under his belt at Okayama later that month.

MKS Racing, Saitama Green Brave Skip First Official Test

A total of 41 cars across both classes are set to tackle the first official test at Okayama on Saturday and Sunday, with two full-season entries missing in GT300.

The Misato Haga-led MKS Racing team, whose creation was announced when the full-season entry list was revealed last month, was absent from the entry list revealed last week along with Toyota squad Saitama Green Brave.

MKS has entered into a partnership with CarGuy Racing to run a Ferrari 296 GT3 in the GT300 class, but no more news on the project has been forthcoming since, with the identity of the team’s drivers and tire supplier still a mystery.

Late last month, CarGuy boss Takeshi Kimura wrote on social media: “It’s not officially decided, and now we are in discussion with various parties. So, unless we can come to an agreement, we won’t be able to participate.”

CarGuy last raced in SUPER GT in 2022 in association with Pacific Racing.

Saitama Green Brave meanwhile is understood to be missing the Okayama test due to unforeseen delays in the arrival of parts required by constructor apr to prepare the 2023 title-winning team’s Toyota GR Supra for the new season.

Elsewhere on the entry list, ex-Honda driver Iori Kimura is due to drive the Team Mach Toyota 86 Mother Chassis car together with Yusuke Shiotsu, the team’s first confirmed driver for 2025, and Super Taikyu racer Aruga Tomita.

However, Kimura’s place in the team is not yet confirmed, and it’s understood that Team Mach is asking prospective second drivers to bring budget.

Ferrari factory racer Lilou Wadoux will miss the test due to a clash with her IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup program with AF Corse, as she tackles the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, leaving Kei Cozzolino to pilot the PONOS Racing Ferrari solo.

In GT500, the entry list for the test mirros the full-season entry, with the exception of Toyota reserve driver Kazuto Kotaka joining the Racing Project Bandoh team as a third driver alongside Yuji Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi.