Kvyat: “Long Path” Ahead After First GT3 Test at Okayama

Factory Lamborghini driver Daniil Kvyat admits he has a “long path” ahead of him to fully adapt to GT3 machinery following his first experience of the Huracan GT3 EVO2 he will drive for the JLOC team in SUPER GT this year.

The ex-Formula 1 racer was making his first appearance in the Japanese series during the opening day of official pre-season testing at Okayama International Circuit aboard the No. 88 JLOC entry he will share with 2024 GT300 champion Takashi Kogure.

Kvyat completed a total of 42 laps across a pair of two-hour sessions as he makes the transition from two seasons driving for the Lamborghini LMDh program.

“It was positive,” said Kvyat. “It was my first time at Okayama and my first proper test day in a GT3 car. Definitely a lot to process, but I am happy.

“The first session was just about memorizing the track, learning the braking points and stuff, and in the second session I was able to discover a little bit more the car and about my driving. I was getting more comfortable with every lap I did.

“Talking to other drivers who made this kind of step from single-seaters into GTs, of course there are differences; of course it’s a heavier car with not much downforce, so you have to adapt some things: braking, using the ABS, it’s all new for me.

“You have to understand how to be competitive with these kind of systems. There is of course a long path ahead for me and room [to improve].

“Every lap I am improving and I am experimenting. Having good experienced teammates means I can look at the data and see what they do, which is helpful.”

Kvyat set his fastest time of 1:26.786 in the afternoon session, which was around one second slower than the quickest GT300 runner in that session, the Pacific Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO driven by Yusuke Tomibayashi.

Kogure’s best time from the morning session left the No. 88 car in 14th in the combined order, which was headed by the LM Corsa Lexus LC500 GT.

“It’s not something we are looking at deeply right now,” said Kvyat when asked if he was satisfied with his final lap time. “I am still trying to get up to speed and understand, so it’s too early to look into the lap times.

“I am not setting myself any particular targets in terms of position. I’ll do my best to adapt as much as I can to the car, to the environment, and we’ll see where my best will be through the year. I expect my progress will be a factor.”

Speaking about his first experience with JLOC, which won the 2024 title with Kogure and Yuya Motojima, Kvyat highlighted the importance of getting used to the team’s working methods as well as Japanese racing culture more broadly.

“We get along well,” said Kvyat. “Me and my teammate Kogure-san can understand each other quite well, together with [Hitoshi] Iyoki-san, the engineer.

“That is one of the reasons this test is very good, because it allows us to get on top of the communication and work together as a team. I have started to understand how they work and they have started to understand how I work, which is normal.

“In some areas there is a bit of a language barrier, but if you talk through things a bit more thoroughly than you are used to doing normally, and figure out the hierarchy of importance of different messages, everything is manageable.

“Even in IMSA, for example, there is some different terminology with American teams compared to Europe. You just have to adapt and get used to it as soon as possible.”