Nick Cassidy may have to sacrifice his 2020 Super GT title aspirations to begin preparation for his switch to Formula E next season.
The Kiwi will join the all-electric grid next year with the Envision Virgin team but will first have to decide between attending the official Formula E pre-season test in Valencia or the final Super GT race at Fuji.
The pre-season test is scheduled to kick off on November 28 and run until December 1.
The situation becomes all the more sticky with Cassidy aware the official pre-season test will be his sole opportunity to prepare for the new season. As a customer team to Audi, Envision Virgin are not allocated private testing days outside the week-long official test.
With three races remaining in the Super GT championship, Cassidy and co-driver Ryo Hirakawa are just one point adrift of provisional leaders Kazuya Oshima and Sho Tsuboi.
Given how tight the championship has been this season, Cassidy will be aware of the importance the last round has for both himself and the TOMs Supra team.
Nonetheless, Cassidy is remaining coy on what lies ahead. But he acknowledged that any decision would ultimately leave one party disappointed.
“I can’t say because I don’t know myself,” Cassidy told The Race.
“It was a little bit of a surprise, but at the same time, a little bit expected that there will be some difficulties with testing and finishing the championship, just because of the nature that the season in Japan which now runs longer than it was scheduled to.
“So that’s the situation and we’re just trying to work a way around that but obviously not everyone’s going to be happy.”
Theoretically, Cassidy can still complete the two-day Super GT weekend and depart Japan for Spain to attend the final day of the Formula E test. There are currently no travel restrictions when moving between Japan and Spain, meaning Cassidy will not have to undergo any form of isolation.
But it appears Envision Virgin are working under the knowledge that Cassidy will be at the test in Valencia. The team’s managing director Sylvain Filippi clarified over the week that “Nick is planned to be at the test in Valencia, despite the clash”.
In the Super GT, Cassidy’s next event will be at Suzuka Circuit on October 24-25.