Report: Mixed Fortunes for Luke at Fuji
Luke finished P14 on Saturday before an unfortunate retirement in Sunday's race at Fuji Speedway.
Published
12 OCT 2026
Est. reading time
2 min
Header image from @kondoracingteam
Luke Browning returned to Super Formula action for Rounds 9 and 10 at Fuji Speedway, finishing P14 in Saturday's race before retiring from Sunday's event following a pit-lane incident.
The double-header marked Luke's first competitive outing in almost nine weeks, with the Kondo Racing driver returning to a circuit where he had previously secured a career-best P3 qualifying result earlier in the season.
Building towards qualifying
Friday's practice sessions saw Luke finish P20 in FP1 before improving his lap time in FP2 to end the day P19. With two races ahead, the focus turned to finding further improvements ahead of the weekend's qualifying sessions.
Luke qualified P16 for Saturday's Round 9, setting himself up for a chance to move forward in the opening race of the weekend.
Saturday's race
Starting from P16, Luke made progress through the 41-lap race to cross the line in P14, gaining two places from his grid position.
The race ran without a Safety Car interruption, with Igor Omura Fraga taking victory. Luke completed the full distance, bringing the first of the weekend's two races to a close.
An unfortunate end to Sunday
Luke returned to the track on Sunday morning for qualifying, where he secured P21 on the grid for Round 10.
The race proved far more eventful than Saturday's, with multiple incidents and three Safety Car periods disrupting the action. During one of those interruptions, Luke returned to the pit lane but was unable to position his car in his team's pit box, stopping in the fast lane.
The incident led to a collision involving Luke, Syun Koide and Rikuto Kobayashi, with all three drivers forced to retire from the race.
It was an unfortunate end to the weekend after Luke had completed Saturday's race, bringing his second Fuji outing of the season to a premature close.
Photo from @kondoracingteam
Looking ahead
With the Fuji double-header complete, Luke's rookie Super Formula campaign now heads towards its season finale.
The championship returns to Suzuka Circuit from 20–22 November for Rounds 11 and 12, where Luke will have one final opportunity to build on the experience gained throughout his debut season.
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