IMSA standout Tom Blomqvist will move over to the IndyCar Series in 2024 for Meyer Shank Racing on a multi-year deal, the team announced in a press conference in Indianapolis on Friday morning. The announcement confirms rumors dating back to last year that the Brit would make the move from sports cars to single-seaters while staying inside the MSR program.
Blomqvist is set to take the full-time spot of Helio Castroneves, who will move to an Indy 500-only schedule at the conclusion of the 2023 season. The four-time 500 winner is also set to join MSR’s ownership group with a minority stake in the team in addition to take on an advisory/driver coach role, similar to Tony Kanaan‘s role with Arrow McLaren. The Brazilian made it clear that he was not retiring during Friday’s press conference, explaining that this announcement makes it so that he can race in other series such as NASCAR and SRX.
The 2022 IMSA DPi champion made his IndyCar debut in July on the streets of Toronto in place of the injured Simon Pagenaud, qualifying 20th before getting caught in a Lap 1 pileup, ending his race. Blomqvist had his first IndyCar experience in a test with MSR at Sebring in October. Speaking on the move to the media, Blomqvist stated “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.”
🚨2024 Driver Announcement🚨
Welcome to INDYCAR @tom_blomqvist! Tom will make his full-season INDYCAR debut starting in 2024 after signing a multi-year contract with us. Let's Go!
Official release: https://t.co/dQj38Wf6IO pic.twitter.com/DhsDPPiMsM
With one seat locked up at MSR for next season, there is another left unoccupied for now. The aforementioned Pagenaud’s seat in the #06 is still in the balance, as drivers like Blomqvist, Conor Daly, and Linus Lundqvist have filled in for the Frenchman since his incident at Mid-Ohio in July. Lundqvist is set to make his second IndyCar start on Saturday at Indianapolis.
Outside of IMSA, Tom Blomqvist has competed in Formula E, WEC, and DTM, in addition to winning the Formula Renault UK title in 2010.