Helio Castroneves replaces Tom Blomqvist for the next two rounds

The four-time winner of the Indy 500, who is now a minority shareholder in the team, finished in 20th position in the Indianapolis 500 this Sunday. Blomqvist was eliminated at the first corner of the event, when he spun. The Briton is having a difficult first campaign in IndyCar, with a 15th place in St. Petersburg as his best result. The owners of the team, Mike Shank and Jim Meyer, therefore decided to replace him with Castroneves, for the next two rounds.

« This decision was by far the most difficult to make”, Shank explains. “Tom remains part of the MSR family and will remain with the team until the end of the season. The decision was not made lightly and after much discussion with Tom, and with two consecutive races coming up, we decided to run Helio at Detroit and Road America. »

A financial decision?

The addition of Castroneves in #66 can be explained by two words: Leaders Circle. This term refers to the owners' standings, where the cars score points, not the drivers. While Blomqvist is 24th in the championship, his car is actually 25th in the owners' standings. Indeed, the Briton is ahead of Callum Ilott and Theo Pourchaire in the pilot classification, but the two residents of the McLaren n°6 combine their points in the owners ranking, and the papaya car therefore moves up in the ranking.

The first 22 cars in the ranking enter the Leaders Circle, which brings in more than a million dollars to its residents. Full-time cars that are not in the top 22 at the end of the season do not receive any money. Only the Indianapolis 500 brings prize money other than that included in the Leaders Circle program.

A return to be expected later in the year?

« It's fair to say that the last two days have been some of the most difficult of my career.", indicates Blomqvist. “Anyone who knows me knows how much I love being part of the MSR family, and together we have experienced extraordinary successes and victories. I look forward to continuing to be a part of the MSR family and contributing to MSR's vision as we pursue new successes in the future. »

Tom Blomqvist made his IndyCar debut last year, replacing simon pagenaud in Toronto, Portland and Laguna Seca. The son of the legendary Stig Blomqvist then signed full-time with Meyer Shank Racing for this year. The Detroit event takes place this weekend, and will be followed on Sunday from 18:30 p.m.

ALSO READ > Tristan Vautier returns to IndyCar in Detroit