Tom Blomqvist put in yet another storming drive in the final round of the Asian Le Mans Series at Abu Dhabi, claiming his second win in as many races.
A Kiwi-raised international racer, Blomqvist now wraps up the four-round championship with a perfect 100 per cent winning record.
Like yesterday when he fought from last in the class to the lead, Blomqvist was forced to work himself to the front after a testing opening stint for co-driver Sean Gelael.
Galeal was running second after the first hour. The opening sixty minutes was punctuated by back-to-back safety car periods for separate incidents in the GT3 class.
The first accident saw the Formula Racing Ferrari and Kessel Racing Ferrari made contact, resulting in the latter being buried in the tyre wall at turn 18.
Ferrari’s day didn’t turn any better moments later when the two AF Corsa Ferrari’s came to blows at Turn 11. Both cars slammed into the barrier, ending their race. The field was naturalised under yellow for the second time in less than thirty minutes.
Gelael was briefly promoted to the lead following an early pitstop for Rene Binder but spun shortly after that.
A deflated Gelael then returned to the pits to give control over to Blomqvist, who was now twenty seconds adrift of the leading No.25 G-Drive car.
Tasked with completing the dusk-to-night transition phase, Blomqvist swiftly reeled in the leaders over his stint and had soon reclaimed the lead before making another pitstop.
Gelael took command of the steering wheel for the final stint and was soon embroiled in a hotly fought tussle with Argentine teenager Franco Colapinto.
The former Toyota Racing Series driver came within four-tenths of Gelael. Still, the Indonesian had enough in hand to claim the victory.
The second G-Drive outfit of Ferdinand Habsburg, Rene Binder and Yifei Ye secured the 2021 Asian Le Mans title with a fourth-place finish.
Blomqvist now prepares for his Formula E campaign with the NIO 333 team. The opening round will be at Diriyah over February 26-27.
