Arrow McLaren team principal Gavin Ward and sporting director Tony Kanaan were delighted by rookie Theo Pourchaire’s debut performance in the No. 6 Chevy. Both men stood within a few feet of the Frenchman after he placed 11th on Sunday in Long Beach and heaped praise on the Formula 2 champion’s clean and heady drive.
“It’s a tough spot to put him in and you can see how much he struggled to begin, but I’m impressed, man. He really did a good job,” Kanaan told RACER.
“Theo was dropped in the deep end, and you can’t be dropped in much more deeply than that,” Ward added. “There’s a lot to like about his approach. I think he’s taken the weekend at the right level of aggressiveness. He’s built up to it. He’s got better and better. Theo got all the laps in the race and got all of that learning in.”
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For Pourchaire, who wanted to race in IndyCar as he was completing his European open-wheel training, the hype matched reality across 85 laps where he improved from 22nd to 11th.
“I thought it was going to be a little bit more boring because it’s a street course, you know, so I expected the race to be like a train — everybody behind each other, because it’s tough to overtake on a street course. And in the end, I was really surprised,” he said.
“I had a really good car. That’s why I enjoyed it as well. But I didn’t do any mistakes. I drove well, I did some good overtakes. After doing my first full weekend in IndyCar, the racing here is incredible. I enjoyed it so much from practice one to the last lap of the race. It was a real pleasure. I expected IndyCar to be good, but it’s really amazing. The cars are amazing.”
Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi was hit by teammate Pato O’Ward early in the race and suffered slight damage that slowed his outright pace. As a result, Pourchaire was able to follow and learn from Rossi — a two-time winner at Long Beach — and crossed the finish line directly behind the No. 7 Chevy.
“You know, the guys at the front, in the top 10, are really good drivers. My teammates as well — I was behind him [Rossi] and that was really good for me; I could follow him to follow his pace, and that helped me a lot to achieve a good result,” Pourchaire said. “We were the biggest mover of the race as well. Big thanks to the team; they helped me a lot. It’s amazing.”
The 20-year-old hasn’t been confirmed by the team for next weekend’s race at Barber Motorsports Park, but after his performance at Long Beach, it would be a shock if he isn’t in the No. 6 Chevy when practice begins on Friday.