Arrow McLaren Team Principal Gavin Ward says that the Thermal Club qualifying was tough for the entire team as they got our by the wind.
“That’s tough. We got caught up in the wind, and then it died down. One thing about this sport is that it’s easier in hindsight. We thought we were in good shape after Lap 2 based on the conditions before the red flag. I have no doubt that if the session had stayed green, we’d have been looking at two cars in first and second in our group. But as it was, by the time the track came green again after the red flag, the winds had died down and the conditions favored the teams that were saving for their third lap. In hindsight, I think we should have gone back out with all our cars, but hindsight’s easy. It’s a bit of a different format, and we’ll have to fight to make the most of tomorrow.”
Alexander Rossi starts Heat 2 from seventh in the No.7 VELO Chevrolet and speaking following the action he said:
“I really have a hard time explaining that one. I think we were three of the fastest cars through most of the past two days, so to end up seventh, eighth and ninth is a big surprise. I think it was all for different reasons. There’s nothing left to say, really. It’s very surprising and frustrating. I know we have good cars, so it shouldn’t be hard to go forward, but we have our work cut out for us.”
In what is likely to be his last outing for the team, Callum Ilott will roll off eighth in Heat 2.
That was a tough one. We had the pace all day; the No. 6 NTT DATA Arrow McLaren Chevrolet felt great. Unfortunately, the qualifying results didn’t show that. We’ll have a bit of work to do tomorrow morning to make it into the big event, but we’ll be ready to get back out there and make the most of it.”
Pato O’Ward in the No.5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet starts Heat 2 from 9th and speaking following the action he said:
Today is probably something we’ve never seen before in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying. This track is even more sensitive to wind gusts than we thought, and wrong timing, I guess. Tomorrow we have no choice but to move up and fight our way into the main event.”