Arrow McLaren Team Principal Gavin Ward says that it was a monumental effort by the team to get two engine changes done between race day warm up and the start of the race on IMS on Saturday.
It was a huge effort by the team to get two engines changed between warm up and the race. A monumental effort, really. At the end of the day, it’s better to have those issues in warm up than during the race. We got all three cars to finish, so that was the silver lining today. The competitiveness wasn’t where we wanted to be, so plenty to learn from. We’re looking forward to getting on the Oval.”
Alexander Rossi in the No.7 VELO Chevrolet was the highest finished for the team coming home in eighth place and speaking following the action he said:
I’m a little disappointed because I think we could have pushed to fifth or sixth. It ended up being more of a track position race than usual around here. We got hit at the start and honestly, I don’t know if there was anything that we could have done differently. It was just one of those days where you kind of end where you started. The team did a great job in pit lane, the strategy was good and overall the balance and the pace was good. It was just harder to go through the field than what I thought, but that is the way it goes.”
Pato O’Ward in the No.5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet started the race from fifth and came home in P13 and speaking following the action he said:
We didn’t have it today. We’ve got work to do the next two weeks before we’re ready to race again. Luckily we have a lot of time on track to be able to work to where we need to be come race day for the Indy 500.”
For Thèo Pourchaire in the No.6 SmartStop Arrow McLaren Chevrolet who will seat our the Indy 500 in two weeks started 18th and came home in 19th place.
That was a tough race. I got caught up in the mess at Turn 1 on Lap 1, went through the grass and found myself in last by the start of Lap 2. However, I came back to finish 19th, which was good. It’s a shame to have lost two positions at the end, but I’ll own it and learn from that penalty. I think we were strong everywhere – the car, strategy, pit stops. I think if we clean a few things up, we can fight for the top 10 and even top five. Thanks again to the team. It’s been great to work with Arrow McLaren, and I can’t wait until I can get back in the car again in Detroit.”
NASCAR star Kyle Larson will join the team this week as preparations get underway for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.