Applause-worthy debut
A more than positive debut for Daniil Kvyat in Super GT, the Japanese category in which the former Formula 1 driver made his debut last weekend in the GT300 class at the Okayama circuit. Taking to the track at the wheel of the #88 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of the JLOC team, shared with Japanese teammate Takashi Kogure, the 31-year-old Russian (who competes with an Italian license) went beyond fans’ expectations, after a qualifying session finished in 14th position.
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The comeback
Taking over from Kogure in the second stint, Kvyat started a comeback that brought him up to 7th place, resisting attacks from opponents behind him. Reaching the double hairpin, the former Toro Rosso and Red Bull driver completed an attack on the #52 Toyota Supra GT300 of the Green Brave team, decisive for securing sixth place overall: “Very good! I would say I’m quite happy – he commented regarding the race weekend – first of all, for the teamwork. Everyone was very good, great communication. The first qualifying went well and I reached a good level. Now I can work on taking the final step, but I’m there with all the other guys in the team who are much more experienced than me. So it’s fine. I think I’m starting to understand. In the race I was able to push really hard. We had a good strategy with the team. Good out-lap, good first laps after the pit stop and some overtakes. Then the fight for sixth position was very exciting and very difficult because they (GreenBrave) were fast on the straight. Every time I got close in the corners, but then I was on the straight and I thought: ‘I can’t get close!’ I had to come up with something different. I learned a lot because it was also my first ever race in a GT car. A GT3, Super GT, GT3 is the first time ever, but I learned quickly, maybe a bit faster than I expected, which is good, but I prefer it that way and now we can focus on the details. I just had to understand the tires, the braking and everything else. It’s very different from single-seaters and everything else. So I had to learn and now I feel comfortable where I am, but now I can focus on the smaller details.”
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The next challenge will be at the Fuji circuit, where Kvyat will try to get closer to the goal of his first podium in this category after the conclusion of his experience with Lamborghini in the LMDh program: “I hope so. If we look only at qualifying, some cars were very fast. So it’s not easy to quickly find this gap with a simple setup change. But I’ve heard that things can change from race to race, depending on the car’s condition and so on. We’ll see; it’s all new to me. Also, at Fuji I’ll have to adapt to the conditions and we’ll see where we are. Obviously, I’d like to fight as far forward as possible, but I prefer to take it step by step and give my best in every session.”
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