Blomqvist Acura beats Bourdais Cadillac by 0.026s in FP2

In the second practice session of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, held on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile temporary street circuit, Mattias Blomqvist bested Sebastien Bourdais and his Cadillac DPi-V.R by a mere 0.026 seconds, thus setting the fastest time of the session.

Blomqvist, piloting the No. 85 JDC-Miller MotorSports Acura ARX-05, set a 1:13.898 lap time around the circuit, edging out Bourdais’s No. 5 Mustang Sampling Racing Cadillac by the slimmest of margins. The Swede’s scintillating drive saw him take the lead for the second practice session, but not quite enough to top the day’s timesheet as he was 0.057 seconds slower than Loic Duval’s lap in practice one.

The 0.026-second margin was the closest finish of the day, and marks a significant improvement from the Acura’s performance at the 12 Hours of Sebring where they were unable to keep up with the Cadillacs. Blomqvist’s time was all the more impressive given that the Cadillac’s pace had been significantly higher, with the manufacturer having taken the top three positions in practice one, and the top four in practice two.

The battle for pole position promises to be a close one, with the Cadillac’s impressive performance in the first two sessions being countered by Blomqvist’s late charge. However, with the gap between the two cars so small, the race for the top spot is sure to be a thrilling one.