Kvyat believes he and the Iron Lynx-run Lamborghini team must keep their expectations in check after concluding the first competitive outing for the new SC63 LMDh prototype at the Losail International Circuit in 14th place, five laps off the lead.
“We need to apply what we learned here,” former Formula 1 driver Kvyat told Autosport. “Of course, we don't expect to make a huge step. We have to be realistic but we need to start applying what we learned here.
“I don't think we will see everything in the next round but for future events, there are a lot of things. We compared ourselves in race conditions with everyone today and we will learn a lot.”
The #63 Lamborghini LMDh raced by factory trio Kvyat, Mirko Bortolotti and Edoardo Mortara ran reliably enough on its debut to see the chequered flag, only losing time with a front-suspension issue that forced Kvyat to slow down with three hours to go.
While the car lacked the pace to mix with other newcomers BMW and Alpine on speed alone, there were some promising signs as well, with Mortara giving a tough fight to Ferrari rival Alessandro Pier Guidi in the third hour after the #51 499P dropped down the order following contact with a McLaren GT car.
Kvyat believes the fact that Lamborghini was able to reach the finish on its debut was an achievement in itself, even so much because it is only running a single car in the WEC.
“I think it was important to see the chequered flag,” he explained. “It was a solid foundation this weekend. We did our first-ever qualifying simulation session and our first race, so it's very important to get as much data as we can.
“We know we have a lot of work to do but to finish the race was very important already.
“[We had] small [issues], but nothing major. We saw the chequered flag. We sometimes took a bit of precautions to double check the car if everything is okay.
“We lost a bit of time. We knew it would lose some time. But we wanted to see the chequered flag today.
“But nothing major. So well done to all the guys for this reliability.”
Kvyat’s team-mate Bortolotti described the Qatar 1812Km round as an extended test session for Lamborghini but was nevertheless pleased with how the car was able to finish the second-longest race on the calendar.
Lamborghini did manage to beat the second BMW M Hybrid V8 and the sole-surviving Peugeot 9X8 to the finish, but both cars were delayed by a number of issues.
“I think we have to look at the positives, we can consider this a great start to the journey,” he said. “We managed to finish the race which was the target for us.
“It’s been an extended test as we have been learning with every session this weekend and I think it’s a good starting point for us.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us that we are happy to continue. But for Qatar, it has been a good start by finishing the race and collecting a lot of useful data for the future.”
The SC63 will make its next race appearance in the 12 Hours of Sebring on 16 March as part of Lamborghini’s parallel programme in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
The car’s next WEC outing will take place at Imola on 21 April.
