Tom Blomqvist topped the opening free practice session for the IMSA SportsCar Championship’s eighth round of 2025 at Road America.

Action began as part of this weekend’s running of the SportsCar Grand Prix at America’s National Park of Speed before next year’s six-hour enduro.

The FP1 session ended six minutes prematurely after Phil Fayer suffered an impact into the barriers at Turn 12 with six minutes left of the 90-minute session.

Tom Blomqvist was quickest at Road America in the #60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 GTP, which won at Watkins Glen, owing to his 1:51.255 lap time.

Heart of Racing’s #23 Aston Martin Valkyrie GTP finished in a close second in the overall classification after Ross Gunn’s 1:51.328 time, just 0.073 seconds behind.

Jack Aitken claimed third place in the #31 Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R and his 1:51.590 time, followed in fourth by Dries Vanthoor’s #24 RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 (1:51.655)

Nick ‘Mr 24’ Tandy rounded out the top five in the #6 Porsche Penske 963 (1:51.835) — the whole GTP field covered by just over 1 second.

United Autosports, the only LMP2 team with two Oreca 07 entries, had a difficult session after their #2 IMSA debutant Fayer’s incident — despite finishing second and third in the end.

This, however, was the second of two red flag disruptions as Daniel Goldburg (#22 United Autosports) went off-course at Turn 8 earlier on, though they returned to the session.

As a result of causing the red flags, both the #2 and #22 Oreca machines will have their fastest qualifying lap times lost.

TDS Racing heads LMP2 at Road America, Winward leads GT field

Peugeot Hypercar driver Mikkel Jensen was the fastest in the LMP2 category for the #11 TDS Racing Oreca (1:52.781) by three-tenths on the #22 Oreca’s benchmark of 1:53.146 set by fellow Peugeot team-mate Paul Di Resta.

Ben Hanley’s 1:53.404 put the #2 Oreca in second position ahead of another Peugeot Hypercar driver, Malthe Jakobsen, at the wheel of the #04 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca.

The young Dane’s 1:53.500 lap time preceded the #79 JDC Miller MotorSports Oreca and Scott Andrews’ 1:53.601 in fifth position.

Meanwhile, in the combined GTD Pro and GTD order, Winward Racing’s #57 Mercedes-AMG GT3 (reigning GTD champions) went quickest with Russell Ward’s 2:04.991 lap time.

Vasser Sullivan’s #12 Lexus RC F GT3 took second with Parker Thompson’s 2:05.739 as Elliott Skeer rounded out the top-three (2:05.823) in the #120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.R.

Fourth in the combined order, fastest in the GTD Pro class, were the most recent race winners – DragonSpeed.

Giacomo Altoe drove a lap time of 2:05.844 in the #81 Ferrari 296 GT3, putting it ahead of the #34 GTD-entered Conquest Racing Ferrari of Daniel Serra and his 2:05.953.

Nicky Catsburg was second in GTD Pro for the #4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R (2:06.028) and Andrea Caldarelli was third in the #9 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 (2:06.056),

See here for the full classification of results from FP1 – FP2 takes place from 09:05 local time / 15:05 BST on Saturday 2 August.

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Tom Blomqvist of Meyer Shank Racing praised IMSA’s decision to switch their race meeting at Road America into a six-hour enduro for 2026.

“I mean, in my opinion, it’s awesome that IMSA has made that change,” he said in a press conference, when asked by Motorsport Week about the calendar decision.

“I think every single driver on the grid is in favour of bringing a six-hour race to Road America, like I said before, for me, it’s the best, well, my favourite track at least.

“I’m sure [for] a number of others as well. So from that side of things, it’s great.

“We want the longer races at the best places […] The weather’s typically a bit better.

“The fans as well, and generally we always get a good kind of crowd there.

“I think it’s just such a great, great move from IMSA, and then in terms of the race, yeah, you have to approach it a little bit differently.

“Some teams may even run three drivers. In our case, we typically try and run two.

“But it’s just more like qualifying is a little less important. It’s a slightly different approach strategically as well.

“You’re always trying to position yourself towards the end of the race, right?

“And that’s kind of more of a target than the shorter race, which is a bit [about] more track position.

“There’s a little less you can do, especially with our cars now that we can go so long on fuel or energy.”

Blomqvist claimed victory in the most recent race for the GTP category, the six-hour endurance race at Watkins Glen International.

He sits sixth in the GTP standings, seeking another win at Round 8, a 160-minute sprint race.

READ MORE – Dane Cameron on life at AO Racing and chasing LMP2 glory

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Meyer Shank Racing announced late Wednesday that Helio Castroneves would be taking over driving duties from Tom Blomqvist for the next two IndyCar rounds.

Blomqvist, a rookie in the series, has been struggling throughout the season, and has a best finish of 15th through five races so far.

He had a particularly disappointing Indianapolis 500 when he made a mistake in the first corner of the race, taking himself and two others out of competition.

The team has made the decision to sideline the 30-year-old driver for the next two rounds in Detroit and Road America, and will allow the team’s veteran driver and minority owner Castroneves to have a go at earning better results.

“It is fair to say that the last couple of days have been some of the hardest in my career,” said Blomqvist. “Everyone who knows me knows how much I love being a part of the MSR family and together we have enjoyed some amazing successes and victories.

“I am looking forward to remaining part of the MSR family and contributing to the MSR vision as we chase down further successes in the future.”

MSR did not announce specific plans for the #66 entry for the remaining 10 races after Road America, but it did make clear that Blomqvist is still part of the team at this point.

The championship-winning IMSA driver has been with MSR since the start of 2022, and it appears that he is simply being given time to regroup after a poor start to his IndyCar career.

“Making this decision was by far the hardest one we have had to make,” said MSR co-owner, Mike Shank. “Tom is 100% still a part of the MSR family and will remain a part of the team for the rest of the season.

“The decision was not made lightly and after much discussion with Tom, and with back-to-back races coming up, we have decided to have Helio drive in Detroit and at Road America.”

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Felipe Nasr revealed his winning Daytona 24 Hours final stint was dominated by hitting fuel numbers, the Brazilian said at the post-race press conference.

“The race really came down to the wire at the very final stop,” he said in response to a question from MotorsportWeek.com about his mindset in that final stint.

“It was pretty much all about the fuel numbers. Each one was the energy numbers we were reaching. I just have to say that was a great call from the team, from Porsche Penske Motorsports, just to give me the opportunity to be in the lead again in that final part of the race, and then it was down to me to hit the numbers and keep the 31 behind.”

The Porsche Penske team short fueled Nasr’s #7 Porsche 963, knowing it was vital to get the Brazilian out in front of their rival for the win, Tom Blomqvist in the #31 Action Express Cadillac V-Series.R.

The team filled the car slightly less than the Cadillac, and subsequently Nasr was able to pull away out of his pit box earlier than Blomqvist, and get that all-important track position.

 “All I can say is the race only finishes at the checkered flag, and until then, nothing is — there’s no decision until then,” said the Brazilian.

“But man, 24 hours of racing, to be going that way, it does give you a lot of emotions in the end. I just knew it was not over yet. I just kept the focus until the finish line. There was a lot of traffic going through, as well, when the 31 was keeping up the pressure.

“But I’m glad it came our way. After all the hard work, the difficult year we had in 2023, especially here, I feel this is the best gift we could give ourselves. Very pleased for the team, for the whole work they’ve done all week,” concluded the 31-year-old.

Blomqvist and his struggle to get by

Meanwhile, Blomqvist also spoke to reporters at the press conference about the nail biting final stint and the race with Nasr to the final lap.

“[It] kind of came down to that last couple of stints there. I was slowly chipping away, managed to close the gap. Then we decided to take an early stop to try and undercut them, which we didn’t really manage, and thankfully I was able to get by on track.

“But the whole goal there was we had to then make a gap because obviously we were going to have a little bit longer stoppage time at the next stop, and unfortunately I get that yellow basically ended our chances really, because especially where we are on the pit lane, coming under yellow and not really being able to react to the car behind in terms of pulling early, for example.

That hurt us really. I think it was going to be a bit closer if that yellow hadn’t have came out because I felt there at the end of the race we had the pace advantage.

Once both cars had pitted, it was up to the drivers to make the difference — but unfortunately Blomqvist could not find his way past Nasr.

“It was just so difficult to pass. The Porsche was really strong on the straight. We were really good in the infield. It was hard to make anything count. 

“It just felt like there wasn’t the cars there at the end of the race, in terms of the traffic to kind of find an opportunity, and Felipe there at the end, I think he did one small mistake where he went wide by a few meters, but other than that, there was no opportunity.

“Yeah, hats off to them. They were fantastic really.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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