It’s been a surprise for many to see the German circuit of Sachsenring announced as the season-finale for the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup and many of the drivers have not raced on the track before. CUPRA EKS driver Tom Blomqvist does have experience of the track, albeit over ten years ao and in a Formula 3 car.
We put Tom in the spotlight in the build-up to Sachsenring and Race DE.
How difficult have you found FIA ETCR in your first season?
FIA ETCR is a challenging series and it’s been difficult for me getting to grips with a new format and different car. I’ve had to get my head around it, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s super tight and super competitive, which obviously makes it very exciting. But at the same time to get the results week-in week-out at every single event obviously makes it super important to be extremely consistent. So it’s definitely a very challenging series!
What do you think is the trick to perform consistently through the battles?
To perform consistently through the battles the important thing is consistency. Start the weekend with qualifying well, because track position is crucial and it’s good to start in the top two of the quarter final and then get through that then the crucial thing for me is to get through to the first semi in front as it’s a lot easier to manage your weekend but also managing the Power Up is extremely important for performance.
What’s your highlight from the season so far?
The highlight for me so far was definitely the opening round in Pau where straight out of the box the CUPRA EKS team managed to get a 1-2-3. That was definitely the highlight for me so far this season!
What was the most challenging event for you?
My most challenging event was definitely Jarama which was a shame because my team-mates were extremely competitive and obviously for CUPRA was a great, great weekend because the guys got 1-2-3. So obviously it’s very happy for that. But for me personally was my most challenging weekend.
You have a very diverse racing programme – how does racing in FIA ETCR differ from other types of racing?
Obviously, my racing career and my racing program this year is quite diverse with sports games racing, FIA ETCR and some formula stuff. ETCR is extremely is very different, let’s say from, you know, the high downforce you know, power and grip of the DPI and over in America. So ETCR is quite a challenging series for me, I would say it’s more, it’s further away from what naturally suits my driving style. This means I have to think and adapt my driving every time I jump back in the CUPRA ETCR, but I am really enjoying the challenge.
How well do you remember Sachsenring?
I’ve raced Sachsenring once before, in 2011 If I remember correctly! It’s a super fast, flowing circuit. I ran in Formula 3 and I remember it being really physical I think it’s going be less physical with these cars but obviously it’s going to be a hard circuit on tyres especially.
What’s your approach to the season finale?
My approach to season finale doesn’t really change. For me personally, I haven’t yet been able to get a King of the Weekend, so, I would love to do that. Adrian and Matias are fighting for the title, so that’s obviously amazing for everyone. We’ve had a really strong season so hopefully we can finish it off with another win for the guys.
