With the conclusion of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Official tests at Okayama and Fuji, the opening round of the season at Okayama is fast approaching (held on April 11th and 12th).
With this, we interviewed some of the drivers who will be the focus of special attention, as well as rookie drivers and newly added drivers. As we look forward to the start of the series we offer their messages to the SUPER GT fans.
In this 11th edition, we will be talking with Niklas Krütten, who first competed in the GT300 class in 2024 as a BMW works driver and this season will return to the GT300 class driving the No. 6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI.
* Interviewed at the Official tests at Fuji
Niklas Krütten No. 6 UNI-ROBO BLUEGRASS FERRARI (returning to the GT300 class for the first time since 2024)
– Welcome back to SUPER GT! You also competed in the GT300 class in 2024, so what is your impression of SUPER GT and the Japanese circuits? I love SUPER GT! The drivers respect each other, and I like the way they stage fierce battles on the track. Of course, the circuits all have their attractive aspects, and it is great to see the way they attract more fans than the races in Europe.
– In 2024, you drove the BMW M4 GT3 of a BMW customer team, but this year you are competing on a completely different team, with a different car, the Ferrari 296 GT3. Would you tell us about you impressions of the team and the car? This year’s team, VELOREX, is a comfortable team to be on for me, and I have a good relationship with Yoshi (teammate Yoshiaki Katayama). And regarding the team’s mechanics and engineers I worked with at the Official Tests, I felt that I could work well with them.
The BMW I drove two years ago had a FR (front-engine, rear-wheel-drive) layout, so it had a slight understeer tendency, and with its long wheelbase, it also had a slightly lazy feel when going through low-speed corners. As for this year’s Ferrari 296 GT3, it is quicker in that regard, and what’s more it feels quite stable in high-speed corners. The braking performance is also quite good.
– At the 2024 opening round at Okayama, despite it being your debut race, you managed to get a podium finish (*), so do you feel that it is a race you do well in？ Okayama circuit has both high-speed and low-speed corners, which I think makes it a very interesting course. And since the track width is rather narrow, it makes it difficult when you are being passed by GT500 class cars. But again this year, with this team I’m sure we can make a podium finish!
* In his first SUPER GT race in the opening round at Okayama, he got a podium finish in 3rd place
– This season you will be competing with a new team and a new car. What areas do you think you can contribute in to help the team win? I guess my strength is that I am good in running clean races. Of course, to win races requires not only the strength of the drivers but also good settings in the machine and good race strategy, etc. In addition to this, the Ferrari is a car with a high level of brake performance, which enables me to pass other cars with confidence!
In the next interview we will talk with Kiyoshi Umegaki, who has competed successfully in FIA-F4 and last year won the Formula Regional Japanese Championship title, and this season has been chosen to compete as a driver for the No. 7 CARGUY Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO. We hope you will look forward to it.
