Tom Blomqvist claims another pole position before misfortune strikes in WEC finale

Contesting the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship with United Autosports, Tom would claim the final pole position in the LMP2 class in the #23 ORECA 07, but would ultimately see what looked set to be a strong race day performance, hampered by misfortune in the 2023 season finale.

‍The weekend got off to a fantastic start in qualifying as 2022 IMSA DPi champion Blomqvist set the fastest lap of the LMP2 class, securing his second pole position of the season for the #23 with a +0.271 gap to his nearest competitor.

With the fall of the green flag, Tom would lead the LMP2 field from pole as they charged into the first corner. However, contact between several Hypercars in front would see multiple cars entangle, dropping Tom to the rear of the LMP2 pack, incurring damage in the process.

Tom and the team would put the first lap setback behind them, and some stellar performances from Tom, as well as teammates Olly Jarvis and Josh Pierson would see the #23 machine steadily climbing up through the field as the race reached the four hour mark.

Unfortunately, a technical infringement would see the #23 crew handed a 90 second penalty, putting a halt to the brilliant recovery drive.

Ultimately, the team would take the chequered flag in P8, not the result they were hoping for after the promising start to the weekend.

The result saw the #23 crew finish P5 in the LMP2 standings on 92 points, but it can be a campaign to look back on positively for Tom with him collecting two pole positions and a podium finish at Spa Francorchamps in the process.

Looking back on the weekend, Blomqvist reflected on a misfortunate race day for the team:

‍“The start … that’s where it all began to go wrong. There was a mess ahead of us in the Hypercar class, so we ended up in a bit of trouble and dropped to the back. We were playing catch up all race, then we had a technical infringement that sealed our fate. Things haven’t gone our way this year. Sometimes that happens in motorsport, and you’ve got to move on. The team gave us a good car, getting the pole yesterday was the highlight. Sorry to Olly and Josh that we couldn’t fight for the podium, and all the guys in the pits who worked so hard. It’s a huge team support, so it’s sad to not get a result when everyone puts in so many hours of hard work.”