Naoki Yamamoto will miss the remainder of the 2023 Japanese racing season after being diagnosed with a neck injury following his crash in the most recent SUPER GT Sugo GT 300km Race.
Yamamoto was airlifted to a hospital in Sendai city after a terrifying crash during last week’s race at Sportsland Sugo, where his GT500 class Honda NSX-GT collided with a slower GT300 vehicle out of the final corner and spun across the frontstretch, hitting the wall and flipping over.
He was released from the hospital that evening with no critical injuries, but last Tuesday he was admitted to a second hospital for a further examination – having initially complained of pain in his neck shortly after the crash.
In the days since being readmitted to hospital, doctors have diagnosed Yamamoto with a subluxation (dislocation) of his C1 and C2 vertebrae, and an injury to his spinal cord.
Team Kunimitsu and Nakajima Racing, Yamamoto’s respective teams in SUPER GT and Super Formula, each issued press releases confirming that Yamamoto would miss the final two races of both series’ seasons in order to devote his efforts towards a full recovery.
Honda Formula Dream Project (HFDP) junior driver Iori Kimura will replace Yamamoto in SUPER GT aboard the #100 Stanley Honda NSX-GT for Team Kunimitsu, sharing the seat with Tadasuke Makino. Kimura raced full-time in GT300 last season with ARTA and won the season finale at Mobility Resort Motegi. He has primarily been racing in Super Formula Lights this season but was also on standby for ARTA’s GT500 team after Toshiki Oyu suffered a collarbone injury weeks prior to the fourth round of the SUPER GT season at Fuji.
In addition, Hiroki Otsu has been named as Yamamoto’s replacement in Super Formula. Otsu won his first GT500 race in August at Suzuka, and was the 2021 Super Formula Rookie of the Year.
“As per the release I just received from both teams I belong to, after the recent accident, I underwent a full examination at the hospital where I am still hospitalised, and it was found that I have sustained serious damage to my neck,” Yamamoto wrote in a post to his social media accounts on Tuesday. “The timing of the report was delayed due to careful discussions, including future treatment plans. Fortunately, I survived, but it was difficult for me to make an early comeback, and I reluctantly had to withdraw in the middle of the season.”
“I was shocked when I had to make this decision. I am sorry for the inconvenience this departure has caused to everyone involved, and I am also sorry to our fans who have been supporting and worrying about me. Then the officials and doctors who carried out rescue operations on site, the helicopter pilots and the medical staff at the destination, the doctors and nurses at the hospital where I am currently hospitalised….thank you so much for your help.”
“Although I still cannot shake off my uncertainty about the future, I will change my mind, confront this difficulty, and do my best without giving up so that I can surely return to work! Unfortunately, we will not be able to fight together until the end of this season, but I ask for everyone’s continued support for Team Kunimitsu and Nakajima Racing!”
“I hope to keep you posted on my progress. I will definitely be back.”
Yamamoto, 35, made his SUPER GT and Super Formula debuts in 2010 and had not missed a race in over 13 years at the highest levels – 114 consecutive races in SUPER GT, all in the premier category with Honda, and 107 consecutive starts in Super Formula.
He is best known for winning the first of two GT500 Drivers’ Championships alongside 2009 Formula One World Champion, Jenson Button, in 2018. Yamamoto won his second GT500 title in 2020 – and he also won the Super Formula Championship in those same seasons, to become the first driver to be crowned the Japanese “Double Champion” on multiple occasions.
He has three Super Formula championships, and made a one-off appearance at the 2019 Formula One Japanese Grand Prix as an FP1 driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso (now known as AlphaTauri, to be renamed again in 2024) with the backing of Honda and the vocal support of his former co-driver Button.
Kazuhiro Kojima, Team Director of Team Kunimitsu, remarked: “It was a difficult decision for him to make. Now we are just waiting for him to come back healthy and drive our car again. We will do our best to support him in this endeavour.”
“While he is sidelined for the season, we are asking Iori Kimura to drive. We will do our utmost to help Makino regain the series championship, and we ask for your continued support.”
“I would like to apologise to everyone concerned, and to our fans for the great concern caused by this incident. We would also like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to help us.”
Feature image © Naoki-Yamamoto.com
