Thai driver Sandy Kraikaew Stuvik delivered a stunning comeback to claim GT3 victory in Race 2 of Round 4 of the China GT Championship 2026 at the Shanghai International Circuit, China, on Sunday, September 6.
Driving the No. 63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 alongside Akash Nandy for Absolute Racing, Sandy started the race from 28th and last on the grid after technical issues prevented the car from completing practice and qualifying.
Despite the difficult start, Sandy produced a strong opening stint, fighting his way through the field from 28th to 7th before handing the car to Akash.
Akash continued the charge, maintaining a strong pace and moving the Lamborghini into the leading group before crossing the chequered flag in 2nd place.
The decisive moment came after the race, when the car that finished first received a post-race penalty, promoting the No. 63 Lamborghini to 1st place and securing the Race 2 victory.
Sandy said “It was an unexpected call up to compete in Shanghai with Akash in China GT with Absolute Racing in their Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2. We had a difficult run up to the event where several technical issues with the car caused us to miss most of the practices, and both of the qualifyings. This meant we would have to start both races from the back of the grid. Undeterred, we entered the races cautious but optimistic. Saturday’s race was cut short due to the severity of the accident during the race. On Sunday, with some luck on our side, we managed to claw our way to the victory from dead last on the grid. It’s a weekend I’ll remember for a long time, and all thanks goes firstly to my teammate Akash Nandy, who delivered an incredible stint in both races, and to the Absolute Racing team for providing us with a fantastic racecar this weekend.”
The result marked a remarkable turnaround for Sandy on his China GT Championship debut — going from last on the grid to the top step of the podium.
The victory highlighted Sandy and Akash’s pace, racecraft and resilience, turning a weekend that began with significant technical challenges into a memorable GT3 triumph for Absolute Racing.