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Williams Reserve Luke Browning Returns After Airborne Suzuka Super Formula Crash

Kondo Racing repaired his car overnight for day two of testing.

Overview

  • The 24-year-old aquaplaned through Suzuka’s 130R in heavy rain, dug into the gravel, vaulted the TecPro and Armco barriers, and came to rest upside down on an embankment.
  • Marshals assisted his exit and video from the circuit showed him walking away uninjured.
  • Browning said he was a passenger on a push lap, credited the HANS device for saving his neck, and reflected that he should have pitted when the rain intensified.
  • Team manager Nobuaki Adachi reported the damage was less severe than feared, and Browning returned on Thursday, placing 18th and about 1.1 seconds off the fastest time.
  • The Williams reserve will run a full Super Formula campaign with Kondo Racing, which will keep him from the Canadian, Belgian, Singapore and Las Vegas Grands Prix.