Tom Blomqvist delivered a highly impressive performance on his ABB FIA Formula E Championship debut as he finished his maiden race inside the points after an extremely professional drive in Marrakesh, Morocco.
The event at the “Circuit Automobile International Moulay El Hassan” marked the third round of the 2017/18 Formula E season. While qualifying took place in foggy and cool temperatures, it was sunny and warmer with temperatures of 16 degrees Celsius during the race.
Experiencing his first Formula E race with MS&AD Andretti Formula E, the former DTM race winner was thrown into the deep end of the highly competitive all-electric race series as the sole driver making his debut in Morocco. Taking over driving duties of the #27 from Kamui Kobayashi, who completed the opening two races of the season in Hong Kong, Tom was given the opportunity to show the team he was the right man for the job.
With all the action taking place on Saturday, Tom’s first day on the job was a busy one; starting with practice in the morning where the 24-year old Brit concentrated on dialing in the necessary skills required in Formula E. After two practice sessions concentrating on energy saving and recovery, Tom headed into his first-ever qualifying session which employs a unique format.
The twenty drivers are divided into four groups of five, with each group having six minutes to set their best lap with full power of 200 kW available throughout. After all four groups have set their times, the five fastest drivers then go out again, one-by-one, in the Super Pole shootout to determine the top five grid positions.
Tom was drawn into group one and was running on full power for the first time in Marrakesh. Driving right on the limit, Tom finished the qualifying session in 12th place with a 1:20.870 lap time. However, Tom could have made it into the Super Pole shootout had he not touched the wall at turn-eight - costing the debutant around half a second.
Managing to out-qualify his teammate, António Félix da Costa, Tom lined the grid as the highest-placed MS&AD Andretti Formula E car and got through the opening lap of the race cleanly and issue-free. As some drivers struggled under the Moroccan winter sun, Tom rose up into the top-ten places but began to slip back down the order as the race hit the most difficult phase of the race as battery life ran low and energy saving became all the more crucial.
Leaving his car-change for a lap longer than his race rivals, Tom had a slice of good fortune as the race went under full-course-yellow (FCY) and he rejoined the race back inside the top-ten. Managing to pull away from the cars behind, Tom held 10th place but a crash from Edoardo Mortara allowed him to cross the finishing line in 9th place. Moments later, a penalty was then given to Maro Engel, promoting Tom further up the order to a final classification of eighth - a highly impressive result.
After picking his first ABB FIA Formula E points on his first attempt, Tom remained grounded as he acknowledged he still has a lot to learn. “The race was a bit of an eye-opener. I was also a bit lucky to finish in eighth position in the end. My focus was on getting some laps under my belt because I literally had no idea what to expect. I had tested and worked in the simulator, but it is very different in the race environment. There is definitely some work that needs to be done on my side to try and figure out how to better manage the race.”
“It is so different from what I have done in the past, and every time I get in the car it will get better and I will learn more and more. I will work on my energy management, or the communication with the engineers. There are so many things that you really need to be on top of here in Formula E. I have got some way to go but we can be very happy with eighth place in my first race.”
Tom’s result didn’t go unnoticed by his team, who were left encouraged by what they saw around the streets of Marrakesh.
“In the No. 27 car we had the debut for Tom Blomqvist, his first time in a Formula E event and we are encouraged by what we saw,” Co-Team Principal Roger Griffiths said. “The speed that we saw in the Valencia test was here in Marrakesh.
“(Tom) had a really exciting qualifying session before he hit the wall which probably cost him half a second on a lap that could have made Super Pole. But, he had a good race, kept out of trouble and picked up some valuable points for the team by finishing in eighth. We come away again encouraged by the pace we had in the cars.”
In association with MBP
