Tom Blomqvist and the #60 Meyer Shank Racing team won the 2022 IMSA Championship with victory in the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans this weekend
Heading into the weekend, Tom and the team sat 2nd in the championship, trailing the #10 Acura but whoever finished highest in Sunday's race would claim the championship title
Tom Blomqvist and full-time teammate Oliver Jarvis were joined by Helio Castroneves for the final race weekend of the season
Selected for qualifying duties, Tom got the weekend off to a dream start as he recorded his and the team's third pole position of the season
Tom's outstanding qualifying performance saw the gap to second place (0.233-seconds) almost as big as the gap (0.287-seconds) between the remainder of the DPi class
Scoring more vital championship points and closing the gap further in qualifying, the scene was set for a dramatic final race of the season
Tom Blomqvist converted his pole into an early advantage in his Acura ARX-05 and had been running ahead of the Cadillacs
However, following several full course yellow periods, Tom had slipped down to 4th place with their title rivals in the #10 Acura now occupying 2nd place
After nine hours of hard racing, and with 50 minutes left on the clock, the two leading Cadillacs collided and both of the championship-contending Acuras pitted - Tom from second place and the #10 from the race lead
Thanks to an efficient second-to-last stint, Meyer Shank Racing were able to do a shorter fuel stop compared to their Acura title rivals, and Tom was able to jump the #10 in the stops - returning to the race at the front of the pack with the #10 in second place
At the restart, with half an hour to go, Blomqvist retained the lead from the #10, and briefly stretched out a small lead on the restart
However, Tom then came under intense pressure from the #10 as they hit the slower GT traffic
In a season-defining moment, the #10 Acura made contact with a GT car in traffic and was forced to retire from the race
Behind the safety car, Tom would take the chequered flag to win the Motul Petit Le Mans, as well as claim the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title
"Wow, we won the race and the championship! I can't thank the entire team enough for the hard work they have put in all year. This championship definitely did not come easy, but all the guys and girls never gave up and we brought it home today. The car was really good, I managed to get a gap quite early. I was starting to get a bit brave in traffic at the end there, I had to be. Obviously, we know Filipe (Albuquerque) is very aggressive in traffic and I had to do the same. I think some things didn't go our way this season but ultimately, I think this one was meant to be. I haven’t felt this felling in a car in a long, long time. When there is something to chase and you really feel on top of the car, and I felt like I was able to go that little extra mile. I wasn’t giving up today, there was no way this was going down without a fight."
- Tom Blomqvist
In association with MBP
