Daniil Kvyat surprised in his debut at Super GT, achieving a remarkable sixth position in the GT300 class at the 2026 season opener at Okayama International Circuit.
The Russian driver, who shared his car, the #88 JLOC Lamborghini Huracan GT3, with Takashi Kogure, approached his new adventure with little experience, as it was his first race not only in Japan but also in a GT3 car. With the aim of focusing on learning, Kvyat had stated that he did not set specific goals before the competition.
Despite his modest expectations, he made an immediate impact. After qualifying in 14th position in Q2, he took over from Kogure in the second stint, where he showed remarkable performance. With a strategy based on changing only the rear tires, he climbed to seventh place while fending off intense pressure from rivals.
Kvyat executed a decisive maneuver at the famous double corner, overtaking the Toyota Supra GT300 #52 from Green Brave, which followed a strategy without tire changes, to secure a satisfactory sixth position at the finish line.
The driver, excited about his performance, reflected on the weekend by stating: “I am very happy. First of all, with the teamwork. The communication has been excellent and the first qualifying was good.” Kvyat emphasized that he has started to better understand the details of the competition as he progresses in his adaptation to this new category.
With his sights set on the next race at Fuji Speedway, Kvyat will face another unknown challenge. When asked about his ambitions to reach a podium in the upcoming races, he responded: “I hope so, but with such fast cars, it’s not easy to find the synergy with a simple setup change. We’ll see how race conditions evolve.”
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
