Arrow McLaren General Manager Brian Barnhart says that the team will see how Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach after a tricky qualifying on Saturday. Arrow McLaren had all three drivers in the Firestone Fast 12. Speaking following the action, Brian Barnhart said:
The lap times dropped a lot quicker than we thought they would, and we needed to continue to push and finish that lap. And, Christian, we’re just trying to ensure that we transferred. We were in P5 and it was going be really close, and just clipped the tire barrier at turn nine and ended the day.
“We were actually just sitting talking about all three cars starting close together, because it groups everybody kind of mid pack. So, we’ll look at it as a group, figure out if we can make sure we cover everybody’s bases, maybe split strategies, and adjust as we can. Still got some unknowns on whether the alts are going to make it a full stint. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Pato O’Ward in the No.5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet starts the race from ninth place and speaking following the action he commented saying:
“No doubt about it, I think we had enough to transfer there, or at least a shot to try and get to the Fast-Six. Glad Christian’s (Lundgaard) alright. But, bummer for me. I think bummer for Nolan (Siegel) as well. He didn’t get his lap in to be able to move on. I think we all had the pace to be in there. We can fight from ninth. This track is really sensitive to track position but we’re no strangers to starting not in the front row in Long Beach. This hasn’t been necessarily our best place in the past, so we’ll see what we can come up with tomorrow. It’s five laps longer than last year. I say they should have done 10 laps because the two-stopper’s still very much in play. So, I think that’s what you’re going to see the leaders do, and we’ll see what we come up with.”
Nolan Siegel in the No.6 onsemi Chevrolet starts the race from 11th place and speaking following the action he said:
“I only did a run on the used primary, and then we put the new (alternate). Made some changes from Q1 and did half a lap and was really happy. Unfortunately, didn’t get to finish it. But, we have good pace, and I’m glad that we have good pace. It’s just frustrating to not get to show that. I think that we probably could have transferred and have the pace to do that, and it would have been nice to actually make it happen. But we’ve got another day tomorrow, so that’s when it counts.”
Christian Lundgaard in the No.7 VELO Chevrolet starts the race from 12th place despite crashing heavily and speaking following qualifying he said:
“I only did a run on the used primary, and then we put the new (alternate). Made some changes from Q1 and did half a lap and was really happy. Unfortunately, didn’t get to finish it. But, we have good pace, and I’m glad that we have good pace. It’s just frustrating to not get to show that. I think that we probably could have transferred and have the pace to do that, and it would have been nice to actually make it happen. But we’ve got another day tomorrow, so that’s when it counts.”