Eight-time New Zealand kart champion Tom Blomqvist will make his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut later this year at the wheel of a Ferrari 488.
The former factory BMW driver will join the HubAuto Corsa squad in the GTE-Am class, replacing Tim Slade who has been forced to forfeit his seat as Australian quarantine requirements would have impacted on his racing commitments in his home country.
The GT ace claimed victory in the 2018 Spa 24 Hour enduro with BMW and has comepted the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the last seasons.
Blomqvist is also expected to join Kiwi Formula E racer Mitch Evans at Jaguar to replace James Calado in the last two of the final six races of the all-electric series in Berlin this month.
He will be joined at Le Mans by HubAuto Corsa regular and regning Asian Le Mans GT champion Marcos Gomes and team owner Morris Chen.
“I am very confident and delighted with our line-up with two highly experienced drivers,” said Chen.
“Marcos has been fast in the Ferrari, having driven with us in the endurance events of Asian Le Mans Series and Blancpain GT Asia.
“I’ve also watched Tom from afar and can see his talent, so I believe we have a very strong line-up.
“Le Mans is an impressive event and it has been a dream of mine to drive my own car with my own Taiwanese team at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
“I have been fortunate enough to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans once before (below), being the first Taiwanese driver to do so.
“Now the excitement is even greater as I can proudly say this is my team.”
HubAuto Racing received an automatic invitation to Le Mans after winning the 2019-20 Asian Le Mans Series GT3 title with a Ferrari driven by Gomes and other co-drivers throughout the season which included Slade and fellow Australian Liam Talbot. The Taiwanese outfit has also played host to Kiwi GT ace Jono Lester in the Blancpain GT Series Asia.
This year’s iteration of the storied twice-around-the-clock enduro will take place on 19-20 September after the coronavirus pandemic had the event moved from its traditional June date.