Indycar: Tom Blomqvist to substitute for Simon Pagenaud in Toronto

Reigning Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona winner Tom Blomqvist will make his NTT Indycar Series debut at this weekend’s Honda Indy Toronto.

He will replace Simon Pagenaud in the #60 AutoNation / Sirus XM Honda Meyer Shank Racing car after the French driver was deemed unfit to race.

Pagenuad is currently recovering from a barrel-roll crash that occurred during Saturday’s practice session at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Blomqvist is a name that might also be familiar to single-seater fans in the form of Formula E, racing for NIO 333 team in the 2020-21 season, the first under World Championship status.  He would later join Envision Racing as their reserve driver for the following season.

He is a driver of many nationalities. Born in Cambridge, England to a Swedish father, he raced under a Swedish license until 2010. He grew up in New Zealand and currently lives in Monaco.

While this will be Blomqvist’s first Indycar race weekend, he does have previous experience testing a car in 2022 at Sebring.

He also notably broke Lewis Hamilton’s record of being the youngest champion of the Formula Reanult UK series, winning the title when he was 16.

Speaking about the announcement, team owner Mike Shank said:

“We’re obviously still working to get Simon as healthy as possible. He is feeling find and is ready to get back in the car once he is cleared. The decision to put Tom in the car was an easy one. He’s coming off of an IMSA win at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park last weekend and I have all the confidence in the world putting him in our Indy car.”

Tom Blomqvist said:

“First and foremost, I’m thinking of Simon and hoping that he recovers as quickly as possible so that he can get back behind the wheel. I have to thank Mike and Jim for considering me to fill in this weekend. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what IndyCar has to offer. Diving straight into the deep end is an understatement after only having one test in the MSR Indy car last year. I’m excited but aware of the challenges getting up to speed during a race weekend, so I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Just going to go out there soak it all in and give it all I’ve got.”