Rovera Replaces Neubauer at Maezawa Racing for Suzuka

Maezawa Racing has announced that Alessio Rovera will replace injured fellow factory Ferrari driver Thomas Neubauer in its lineup for next week’s Suzuka 1000km.

Neubauer, who was due to share the No. 555 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo with Yusaku Maezawa and Naoki Yokomizo, has been forced out of the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season after fracturing his left collarbone in a cycling accident.

On Friday morning, Maezawa Racing revealed via a short statement posted to social media that FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 regular Rovera has been drafted in to fill in for Neubauer as the team aims for Bronze class honors.

It is set to mark Rovera’s debut at Suzuka and his first appearance in Japanese racing outside of the WEC’s annual visit to Fuji.

Additionally, the Suzuka race will be the Italian driver’s second IGTC outing of the year after he finished third in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa with AF Corse.

Ferrari heads into the penultimate round of the season fourth in the manufacturers’ standings, trailing Porsche, Mercedes-AMG and BMW.

The Prancing Horse will be represented in the Pro class at Suzuka this year by SUPER GT and SRO Japan Cup team PONOS Racing, while LM Corsa and the Team LeMans-run Norik Racing team are also running 296 GT3 Evos.

Maezawa’s Ferrari was the final classified finisher in last year’s Suzuka 1000km after Yokomizo suffered a crash at 130R, and the team has stated it is aiming for a “strong result in the overall standings” this time around as well as class honors.