Tom Blomqvist has joined the #31 Wehlen Engineering Action Express Racing-run Cadillac driver line-up for the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as the Endurance driver.

After recently winning the 26th edition of Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, Blomqvist will continue racing in IMSA through his drive with the reigning GTP champions for next year’s season.

Jack Aitken will be promoted from his ‘endurance’ role to become a full-season driver, partnering up with Pipo Derani whilst Blomqvist will join Action Express Racing (AXR) as a third driver for the Endurance Cup races.

Blomqvist said: “After another great season with Meyer Shank Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, it is an honor to be joining Action Express Racing and Cadillac for the endurance rounds of the 2024 campaign.

“It is a series I love being a part of, and I’m delighted to be returning once again.

“To be able to come back to the series and to try to defend my title at Daytona (aiming to take a third consecutive one) is a huge motivation and I can’t thank Meyer Shank Racing and Honda Performance Development (HPD) enough for allowing me the opportunity.”

Gary Nelson, team manager for AXR, added: “We’re thrilled that Tom is going to join our team for the IMSA endurance events.

“We feel that with his experience and recent successes it’s a natural fit for Jack Aitken and Pipo Derani.

“We’re looking forward to getting in some work this winter so we can hit the ground running when we get to Daytona.”

The son of 1984 World Rally Champion Stig Blomqvist will run his IMSA Endurance campaign simultaneously alongside his full-time Meyer Shank Racing IndyCar duties next year.

Meanwhile Alexander Sims will remain within the General Motors family, as he will join the Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports in the IMSA GTD Pro category next year, in a Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

There are six rounds of the IMSA WeatherTech Endurance Cup in 2024, beginning at the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of January.

The second round follows after with the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, and the 6 Hours of the Glen in June, followed by a six-hour Battle on the Bricks race at Indianapolis in September.

Abiding by tradition, the 10-hour Petit Le Mans race will conclude the 2024 IMSA WeatherTech season on 12 October.

Three IndyCar rookies took to the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for the first time on Wednesday, turning high speed laps on the banking.

Linus Lundqvist, Marcus Armstrong, and Tom Blomqvist all participated, with Chip Ganassi Racing and Meyer Shank Racing providing the machinery and support.

The Rookie Orientation Program is required for first-time participants in the Indianapolis 500, and is designed to give drivers a chance to get used to the high speeds and unique challenges.

Each driver completed 10 laps between 205 and 210 MPH, then 10 more laps between 210 and 215 MPH, then was released to run above 215 MPH to complete the certification process.

IndyCar officials watched on during the entire session, and gave their approval of each drivers’ capabilities at each stage.

All three drivers completed their orientation before the lunch break, and now have permission to compete in the Indianapolis 500 proceedings next May.

Lundqvist was the first to complete his program, running 54 laps despite his car coming to a stop on track 90 minutes into the morning session.

The issue was quickly resolved, however, and he continued on his way shortly after his car was towed back to pit lane.

His fastest lap of the two hour morning session was the fastest of all three drivers, and was completed at an average pace of 219.504 MPH.

“What a place this is!” said Lundqvist after his runs. “So many times you’ve been here as a fan, as a bystander watching everyone else race. Now to be able to drive it myself, it’s incredible. It’s so fast.

“The history and legacy of this place, it feels surreal, honestly, driving it. It was actually my first time ever in a Chip Ganassi Racing car as well, so kind of double happiness for me this morning.

“We have a lunch break, going to go back out this afternoon again to learn a little bit more. It’s going to take a long time for this smile to fade off my face.”

All three drivers will complete more laps in the afternoon, and will use their three allocated sets of Firestone tires to get as much practice in as they can.

Kyle Larson will be on track on Thursday to run through his own orientation program, and then the 2.5-mile speedway will be dedicated to testing of IndyCar’s new hybrid engine package for the remainder of the week.

Helio Castroneves is taking on a new role within Meyer Shank Racing next season, changing from a full time driver to a part owner and minority partner of the racing team.

His seat in the #06 entry has already been filled by the IMSA star driver Tom Blomqvist for 2024, but a decision has not yet been made for a driver for the team’s second car.

Simon Pagenaud fills that role officially for this year, but the veteran has been sidelined for the second half of the season due to an extended recovery from injuries suffered in early July.

His ongoing health concerns are complicating MSR’s decision about what to do with the #60, especially as the rest of the driver market is quickly being finalized.

When asked if he is part of the discussions with team owners Jim Meyer and Mike Shank about the decision for the team’s second driver, Castroneves said that he is providing his input, but is not the final decision-maker.

“Right now, we are discussing,” Castroneves told MotorsportWeek.com. “They are participating and asking me. I have the experience enough to give the truth.

“I’m not saying who it’s going to be, but I’m giving the facts about who I raced against and who they should be looking into. I’m not afraid to give my opinion, but I’m not the one making the call. I’m just helping them to use the tools to make the right decision.

“We’re still all wishing Simon a quick recovery. I spoke with Simon, and still some of the injuries inside of our heads you can’t predict, and you’re body can’t heal as fast as you want. We’re wishing him the best of course.

“What’s going to happen in the future [with the #60 entry], we don’t know. As a team owner now, looking for options and hopefully we’ll find the right fit.

“But yes, absolutely [involved in that process].”

Multiple drivers have filled in driving the #60 in recent races, including Conor Daly, Linus Lundqvist, and Tom Blomqvist.

The latter two drivers are no longer available to drive the car full time next year, with Lundqvist signing with Chip Ganassi Racing and Blomqvist taking the other seat at MSR.

The decision is a complicated one for the team, and could depend on how quickly Pagenaud can shake off his lingering symptoms.

Meyer Shank Racing has announced that Tom Blomqvist will get the start in the #60 for the final two races of the 2023 IndyCar season.

The IMSA star has already been confirmed to be racing full time with the team next season, and the two outings at Portland and Laguna Seca will give him more preparation time ahead of that campaign.

Blomqvist has competed in one IndyCar race earlier this season, stepping into the #60 for a challenging weekend in Toronto and improving considerably throughout the weekend.

He did not gain as much experience as he had hoped, however, as a first lap crash took him out before he had a chance to really get a feel for racing against others.

He has since spent time on the simulator and had time to digest what he learned over his previous race weekend, and will be more prepared to take on the two natural terrain road courses in the coming weeks.

“Obviously the circumstances are quite tricky with Simon’s recovery and the whole situation surrounding the #60 car,” said Blomqvist in the release. “I know the whole team and myself included are thinking about him as he recovers.

“I’ve got to thank Jim [Meyer] and Mike [Shank] for getting me in the car and looking ahead now to next season having been confirmed to drive with MSR next year. It’s a good thing to be getting these races under my belt before the season and working in preparation for my full program in 2024.

“I got a brief test in Toronto under very challenging circumstances – without any real preparation whatsoever. Now I’ve got a little bit more understanding and knowledge and I’m hoping it’s going to be easier this time.

“Hopefully I can do Mike and Jim proud and make progress with every session. Hopefully after these next two events I can be happy and put in some strong performances and go into winter break with more knowledge on the series and be able to build on this.”

The news comes as a confirmation that Pagenaud is not yet fit to get back behind the wheel following his crash at Mid-Ohio in early July.

The veteran tumbled violently through the gravel and has been experiencing post-concussion symptoms since then.

He posted an update on social media stating that he wishes he could be driving his car, but is following his doctor’s advice and is focusing on getting back to 100% health.

Multiple drivers have taken over driving duties of his car for the recent races, including the reigning Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist for the past three rounds.

Blomqvist was originally scheduled to take part in the WEC event from Fuji on a date that clashes with Laguna Seca, but was recently removed from that entry list ahead of his IndyCar announcement.

The Swede will set his first laps around Portland in just four days’ time, ahead of this Sunday’s race.

Meyer Shank Racing announced on Friday morning that the team’s sportscar ace Tom Blomqvist would be shifting to the team’s IndyCar program next season.

MSR has signed Blomqvist to a multi-year deal, and is the first of the team’s two full-time entries to have a confirmed driver for the 2024 season.

Blomqvist has been making a name for himself recently in IMSA, driving in the top prototype class for the past three seasons.

He earned the championship in his first year with MSR in 2022, and has won two races this year if one includes the Daytona 24 Hours victory that was all but stripped due to a tire pressure infraction.

The 29-year-old will make the move back to open wheel cars next year, a discipline that he learned well while contesting Formula Renault, Formula 3, and most recently Formula E in the 2020-21 season.

Blomqvist drove his first career IndyCar race with MSR earlier this year, filling in for Simon Pagenaud at Toronto and impressing with his ability to gain pace throughout the weekend.

“Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to Mike [Shank] and Jim [Meyer] and all the partners – AutoNation, SiriusXM, Arctic Wolf, Clopay and Cleveland-Cliffs – for believing in me and giving me this opportunity,” said Blomqvist.

“It’s been a good ride the last two years in IMSA, but I’ve been itching to make the step up to IndyCar and this is an opportunity I’m eager and motivated to make the most of.

“IndyCar is an incredibly competitive series and I’m under no illusions in how difficult this championship can be, but I am extremely motivated to make the most of this exciting new challenge.

“This opportunity only arose since joining Mike and his team, then just kind of proving to them that I was capable and worthy of getting given the shot in IndyCar. I’m super, super grateful for that. I’m extremely excited.

“It’s been a while. I’ve been doing something so different for so long, but I think time will tell. I’m pretty confident I’ll figure this thing out.”

Blomqvist will be taking over Helio Castroneves’ seat, with the long-time veteran shifting to a minority ownership role within the team.

He will still get a chance to earn a fifth Indianapolis 500 win, however, as MSR will field a third car for the race next season.

Castroneves admitted that changing his role away from a full time driver will be difficult, but he’s committed to helping the team evolve and grow in whatever way he can.

“We started these discussions with Tom and Helio, we’ve been talking to Tom for a long, long time about what his next step would be,” said MSR co-owner Jim Meyer at the press conference to announce the changes.

“I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people out here. The only people I don’t think he will surprise are me and Mike.

“We began talking with Helio, I don’t know, more than a couple months ago. We had a couple of great conversations about what Helio wanted, what we thought was really good for our sponsors, what’s great for Meyer Shank Racing.

“Helio will also take on a role, I don’t know, it’s bigger than an ombudsman. It’s driver coach, it’s ambassador, and frankly it’s providing and helping us get to this next level that we want to get to in IndyCar racing. We’re really pleased to be able to make this announcement today.”

It is not yet known which of the team’s two cars Blomqvist will drive, or who will partner him in the second full time entry.

Castroneves will start his 388th IndyCar race on Saturday, alongside Linus Lundqvist, who is filling in for a recovering Simon Pagenaud and will start his second race.

Simon Pagenaud has not been cleared to race at this weekend’s IndyCar race from the streets of Toronto, opening up the door for Tom Blomqvist to make his series debut.

Pagenaud suffered a dramatic crash during practice for the recent race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, tumbling seven times through the gravel before coming to rest against the tire barriers.

The failure of a part supplied by a vendor was given as the cause for the accident, which resulted in Pagenaud losing his brakes at the end of the longest straight on the course.

The veteran was cleared of any physical injuries, but was not able to pass cognitive tests administered by the IndyCar medical team. Conor Daly filled in for the rest of the Mid-Ohio weekend, and now Meyer Shank Racing has pulled in its star IMSA driver Blomqvist for the Toronto race.

“First and foremost, I’m thinking of Simon and hoping that he recovers as quickly as possible so that he can get back behind the wheel,” said Blomqvist.

“I have to thank Mike [Shank] and Jim [Meyer] for considering me to fill in this weekend. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what IndyCar has to offer.

“Diving straight into the deep end is an understatement after only having one test in the MSR Indy car last year. I’m excited but aware of the challenges getting up to speed during a race weekend, so I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Just going to go out there soak it all in and give it all I’ve got.”

Blomqvist drove alongside Colin Braun last weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, claiming pole and taking overall victory in the race.

The triple-nationality driver also won the overall IMSA prototype championship in 2022, giving MSR its highest achievement in prototype racing to date.

Blomqvist will race alongside Helio Castroneves this weekend, learning from the veteran as best he can before taking the green flag on Sunday afternoon.

“Simon says he’s feeling fine and absolutely ready to get back in the car once he is cleared, but he knows there is an IndyCar protocol in place to protect the drivers, so we just have to follow those guidelines,” said MSR co-owner Mike Shank.

“I know he was disappointed to end his long streak of starts but everyone wants him to be as healthy as possible so we just have to follow the IndyCar medical guidance on this.

“We are fortunate to have Tom available to jump in on such short notice. He’s a champion, has a little bit of experience in the car, and is coming off another big IMSA win last weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, so this was not a tough call for us to make.”

Blomqvist has taken part in one IndyCar test day before, but has competed in many different racing disciplines over the past 15 years.

His first time on track will be Friday at 3:00 PM Eastern, when he will attempt to learn everything he can about the temporary course in the heart of Toronto.

A host of drivers were able to sample an IndyCar for the first time on Wednesday at a private test session held at Sebring Raceway.

Instead of the usual slate of current IndyCar drivers, the offseason test was populated with drivers that are only just getting to know the Dallara chassis for the first time.

Five drivers in total were on track over the course of the day, each with different motivations for taking part in the private test.

Driving a Meyer Shank Racing entry was Tom Blomqvist, who has been lighting up the scoreboards driving for the team in an IMSA DPi prototype and set the fastest lap of the day.

Blomqvist completed a lap of 52.708 seconds late in the afternoon, and was nearly a third of a second faster than the rest of the participants.

The 28-year-old is locked into sportscars for next season, but has shown interest in making a jump to IndyCar in the future if the opportunity presents itself.

Agustin Canapino was behind the wheel of the Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevy, preparing for a set of upcoming exhibition runs in his native Argentina.

The demonstration will take place next month in and around Buenos Aires, and will serve as a promotional event in team co-owner Ricardo Juncos’ home country.

Jake Dennis took to the track in an Andretti Autosport Honda, with the Formula E driver using his ties with the team to snag an opportunity to feel out the different discipline.

Rounding out the five participants were a pair of Formula 2 veterans Juri Vips and Marcus Armstrong.  The two drivers piloted entries from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Dale Coyne Racing respectively.

Vips completed the most laps on the day, lapping the short Sebring course 155 times in the all-day session.

There was some talk that Armstrong was interested in becoming the next young driver the jump from the European ladder over to IndyCar for next season, but that has not yet materialized.

None of the drivers that participated in the late-autumn test have any solid plans to take part in the series in the near future, but completing a day of running around IndyCar’s winter home is a good way to get a foot in the door.

JOTA has confirmed that Stoffel Vandoorne and Tom Blomqvist will not return to JOTA’s LMP2 line-up for the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship after team-mate Sean Gelael was announced to have joined Team WRT on Tuesday.

Vandoorne, Blomqvist and Gelael finished second in the LMP2 standings in 2021, being the only of the title-contending cars to not win a race despite nearly winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Silver-rated Gelael was announced as the first driver in Team WRT’s expanded two-car LMP2 effort for the 2022 season, which also cast doubts over his team-mates’ future with the LMP2 stalwarts.

In a statement on social media, which has since been deleted, JOTA announced that the duo, along with Gelael, will not return to the team for the upcoming WEC campaign.

“It’s with great sadness that we announce the departure of Sean Gelael, Stoffel Vandoorne and Tom Blomqvist from JOTA,” the team wrote.

“We thank them for all their hard work and dedication throughout the last year. It’s been a season we will look back at fondly, full of podiums and top tier racing.”

“We wish them all the best for the future and look forward to battling with them back out on track. Although they are no longer part of the JOTA team they will always be a part of the JOTA family!”

Although it remains yet to be confirmed, it would appear likely that the duo will follow team-mate Gelael to Team WRT’s LMP2 squad, which will expand to two cars for its sophomore campaign.

Tom Blomqvist has signed with Meyer Shank Racing to complete the team’s full-season DPi line-up for the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

Blomqvist will partner Oliver Jarvis, who was announced on Tuesday, to form an all-British line-up aboard the #60 Acura ARX-05 DPi.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Meyer Shank Racing for the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship,” said Blomqvist. “MSR has proven itself as one of the top race teams in the US, and in the Acura DPi I’m fully confident that we have a fantastic foundation for success next year.

“I have previous experience of racing in the States from 2019, and in prototypes from this year in the WEC, so I’m hoping to utilize that experience so we can hit the ground running next year!”

Blomqvist last competed in IMSA in 2019, when he was part of BMW’s factory GTLM effort. After graduating from single seaters in 2015, the son of rally legend Stig Blomqvist first raced in DTM from 2015 to 2017, after which he further expanded into sportscar racing.

He made his WEC debut with a podium finish for Extreme Speed Motorsports in Shanghai in 2016, won the Spa 24 Hours in 2017 and also raced in Formula E.

In 2021, he paired his Formula E campaign with NIO 333 Racing with a successful season with JOTA in the WEC, finishing second at Le Mans en route to second in the LMP2 championship.

Tom Blomqvist admitted he ‘cocked up’ on his quickest lap during qualifying for the Six Hours of Bahrain, but was still quick enough to take pole position even though his fastest lap was deleted.

Blomqvist took the pole aboard the #28 JOTA ORECA 07-Gibson late Friday afternoon. The Briton only just beat out Filipe Albuquerque’s #22 United Autosports ORECA, who set a flying lap at the very end of the short qualifying session to jump up to second place.

Antonio Felix da Costa, Blomqvist’s JOTA, team-mate was third in class. The top three in the fiercely competitive session was separated by just over two-tenths of a second.

Bloqmvist had been on form all throughout Friday at the Bahrain International Circuit, topping both the second and third practice sessions in LMP2 prior to taking pole position. The single point on offer for qualifying means that JOTA extend their points advantage over Team WRT from one to two points.

“I’ve got to thank the team, huge credit for them,” Blomqvist said. “We rolled off the truck with a good car, but it wasn’t amazing and we made some really good tweaks overnight. That transformed our car for today. I’ve been super confident, super happy with it all day long.”

“I was quite confident going into qualifying. My first run was good. Second run, I don’t know what I was trying to do but I pushed a little bit too hard and cocked up the first sector. Nonetheless, it was thankfully just enough to keep the pole position.”

Ultimately, the gap between Blomqvist and Albuquerque came down even further when Blomqvist had his fastest lap deleted. His second-quickest lap, a 01:49:932, was still quick enough for pole, but Albuquerque’s late flyer now meant that the gap between first and second in LMP2 was a mere 0.062s

“The number 22 [car] had a pretty massive comeback in that session,” Blomqvist said of Albuquerque. “We can’t rule anyone else out. It’s going to be a tough, tough race. This track is proving really difficult with our cars this weekend.

“It’s probably one of the first times we’ve had a proper race here during the day, so that’s going to throw a proper curveball. It’s going to be difficult to manage so we’ve definitely got that in the back of our minds. We have to really take care of our tyres.”

“After many years of racing, you should get your head around a track relatively fast. Obviously, the car makes my life a little bit easier.”

Blomqvist was not the only driver to have a lap time deleted in LMP2. High Class Racing’s Robert Kubica, initially seventh in class, also lost his fastest lap for a track limit infringement. As a result, the Danish squad has been dropped back to tenth in class, only ahead of the Richard Mille Racing Team squad.

As a result, Team WRT will start the six-hour enduro from seventh place in class.