Report: Luke gains valuable Super Formula experience in eventful pre-season Test
Get the low-down on Luke’s performance in Mie Prefecture
Published
27 FEB 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
Luke overcame a dramatic crash on Day 1 of pre-season testing to take part in four productive sessions at the Suzuka International Circuit this week.
The 24-year-old was merely a passenger when he went off the road at the famous 130R turn in torrential conditions, digging into the gravel, which sent his car up and over the barriers.
Fortunately, Luke emerged unharmed from the incident, thanks in part to the head and neck support worn by all drivers.
““It was just a push lap — A bit of an unfortunate crash, just aquaplaned, unfortunately, when the rain came down,” he explained.
“So I was a little bit of a passenger at that point. I think in hindsight I would have pitted when the rain came down so hard.
“These lessons you learn, it's all about learning over here. And yeah, for me, that was a lesson learned today that I can take to go forward in my career.”
Our British racer later added: “[I’m] All good, completely fine. Luckily I landed on the hay and did not hit the barriers, so I feel all good.”
“The HANS (head and neck support) device is just fantastic. I think that saved my neck. Big thanks to them guys.”
It had been a strong first day of running for Luke until then — and in positive news, the incident didn’t prohibit him from taking part in the remainder of the Test.
He was therefore able to gather plenty of valuable experience in Kondo Racing’s Dallara SF23, following on from his Rookie Test appearance back in December.
Day 1 produced best lap times of 1:48.272 and 1:47.789, respectively, across two rain-soaked sessions in Suzuka.
But improved conditions allowed for faster speeds on Thursday, as Luke put a time of 1:38.334 on the board during his first outing of the day.
And he went one better that afternoon, posting his best time of the entire Test at 1:37.365 — placing him in P18 overall.
Notably, that was the second-best performance of any rookie in Mie Prefecture, with only Yuto Nomura finishing higher in 17th.
Luke was piloting Kondo Racing’s No.3 car on this occasion, and will be driving Kenta Yamashita’s former vehicle throughout the 2026 campaign — starting with a return to Suzuka for Rounds 1 and 2.
That opening event of the season is set to feature Free Practice on Friday 3rd April, before two race days from Saturday 4th - Sunday 5th April.
Keep up to date with all the build-up to that curtain-raiser on lukebrowningracing.co.uk over the coming weeks!
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