Tom Blomqvist made a welcome return to the podium places this past weekend as he and his #25 BMW Team RLL Racing teammates finished in third place at Petit Le Mans.
For the final time this year, Tom headed stateside for the last race of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Joining regular teammate Connor De Phillippi and Indycar rookie Colton Herta in the #25 BMW M8 GTE as they aimed to end the season on a high.
Using the four practice sessions to gather vital data for the ten-hour race, Colton Herta was put on qualifying duties and qualified the #25 BMW M8 GTE in 9th place in the GTLM class before the team were promoted to 8th place due to post-qualifying penalties.
Starting from eighth on the grid, the #25 BMW M8 GTE consequently worked its way through the field over the course of the race - with the team’s race pace clearly stronger compared to its one lap pace.
When Tom jumped into the car for the first time in the race, the team were firmly in the battle for the race win and on lap 236, Blomqvist took the GTLM lead for the first time, and kept battling it out at the front end of the pack with his team-mates until the very end.
Eventually crossing the finishing line in 3rd place, Tom recorded his first podium finish of the IMSA season.
“It was all or nothing in the end. And we made it. I’m really happy now. This event was just awesome. The last stint was pretty mental. It’s just great I could do this for the guys and everybody in the team.”
In the GTLM drivers’ standings,Tom finished 9th in the Drivers’ Standings with 258 points, with BMW finishing the season in fourth in the manufacturers’ standings with 327 points.
In association with MBP
