Arrow McLaren – Page 6 – Syndication Server

Rosenqvist satisfied with “great recovery” after early spin

He was eighth. He was 27th. He was fourth. And he was ninth. Felix Rosenqvist covered a ton of ground on Sunday at the Barber Motorsports Pak NTT IndyCar Series race in his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevy after tipping himself into a spin just seconds …

He was eighth. He was 27th. He was fourth. And he was ninth.

Felix Rosenqvist covered a ton of ground on Sunday at the Barber Motorsports Pak NTT IndyCar Series race in his No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevy after tipping himself into a spin just seconds after the 90-lap contest got under way.

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Starting eighth, Rosenqvist charged into Turn 1, fired up the hill towards the cresting right-hand corner and had Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden running in close proximity on his outside, and with a slightly late application of the brakes, the No. 6 make contact with Newgarden and went for a spin.

The price he paid was a loss of 19 positions and a need to fight back from 27th and last in the field. Originally set for a two-stop run that would have required extensive fuel saving, Rosenqvist was switched to a flat-out three-stop plan to give the Swede a better chance of chasing down slower cars and getting back to where he started the race. He rose to the challenge and came within one spot of where his race started.

“That was a really strong race,” Rosenqvist said after placing ninth at the finish. “I’m sorry about the contact with Josef on lap one – I braked too late into Turn 2, so that was on me. It obviously screwed us in the beginning as we came out in last, but it set up a really fun first two stints, passing a lot of cars and running in clear air. The 6 car was on rails.

“The way the race turned out, changing to a three-stopper proved the right way to go. Thanks to the team on pit wall for being so flexible on strategy. The only thing that went against us was a mid-race caution; without that it could have been a top five as the two-stoppers would have really struggled on fuel. Still, it’s a great recovery, and a solid day for the entire team as we move into the month of May.”

McLaren reveals Kanaan’s Indy 500 livery

Ahead of this week’s Open Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in conjunction with the team’s “Triple Crown” livery series for the 107th Indianapolis 500, Arrow McLaren has revealed the livery for its fourth entry in this year’s race – the …

The scheme features a papaya star surrounding the seat and three black stars along the left rear wing. These elements are a nod to McLaren Racing’s Triple Crown achievement of winning the three most prestigious races in motorsport: the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.   The livery series forms a part of McLaren’s 60th birthday celebrations through 2023, honoring iconic moments throughout its history and the legacy built by team founder Bruce McLaren.

Kanaan, winner of the 2013 Indy 500, announced in February that this year’s race will be his last in IndyCar, is set to make his 22nd career start at the Indy 500 with the support of SmartStop as his primary partner and long-time partner 7-Eleven.

“I’ve been eager to see this livery, and it does not disappoint. It’s one of the best-looking cars I’ve ever been in and representing the history of the Triple Crown makes it even more special,” Kanaan said. “I’m so grateful to have SmartStop and my long-time partners 7-Eleven and NTT DATA along for this ride, and I’m excited to finally take this car out on the track starting tomorrow at the Open Test.”

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H. Michael Schwartz, Chairman and CEO of, SmartStop, said: “We are thrilled to be a part of Arrow McLaren’s Triple Crown celebration and to sponsor the No. 6 SmartStop Arrow McLaren Chevrolet at the Indianapolis 500 with racing legend Tony Kanaan behind the wheel.

“SmartStop Self Storage is committed to supporting excellence, and Tony and the Arrow McLaren team exemplify the drive and determination needed to succeed at the highest level. We can’t wait to see what they will accomplish together on the track, and we are honored to be a part of this historic event.”

The No. 66 SmartStop Arrow McLaren Chevrolet will be on track for the first time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Open Test on Thursday and Friday.

O’Ward continues blitzing IndyCar field in Long Beach first practice

NTT IndyCar Series points leader Pato O’Ward carried his early-season form into the opening practice session on the streets of Long Beach on Friday. On an afternoon where the field spent the 75-minute session trading hundredths of a second, O’Ward …

NTT IndyCar Series points leader Pato O’Ward carried his early-season form into the opening practice session on the streets of Long Beach on Friday.

On an afternoon where the field spent the 75-minute session trading hundredths of a second, O’Ward popped up in the final three minutes with a 1m06.6999s in the No.5 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet that shaded the rest of the pack by more than 0.2s. Scott Dixon, who also kept his powder dry until the last couple of minutes, came closest with a 1m06.9649s.

“We just kept chipping at it,” O’Ward said. “We rolled off strong, but we’ve been making adjustments to get it a bit more in the window, and so far it’s good. We’re going to look into it and see where we can make improvements, but I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow. It’s all about executing; it’s going to be tough.”

Prior to claiming the top spot on the timing screens, the standout moment in O’Ward’s session had been a massive lock-up after catching a bump where new and old asphalt meet at Turn 8 and flat-spotting the heck out of his right-front tire.

He was hardly alone in that regard: True to Long Beach form, the session was peppered with incidents, although unusually almost none of them resulted in car damage. The sole exception was Josef Newgarden, who grated a few layers of carbon fiber off the left edge of his floor with a brush against the wall, but even then he was able to complete the bulk of the session after the damage was patched up with some tape.

“I about did that four or five times,” he said. “Some of the settings we started with were probably aggressive. I’m not too stressed out about it for session one, but it would have been ideal not to ruin that first set of tires. We didn’t want to get bad data (so we parked a few minutes early); we just wanted to be conservative.”

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Up front, Colton Herta enjoyed a brief spell at the top before eventually being shuffled back to third-fastest in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda, just 0.01s down on Dixon’s time.

“It’s sweet,” Herta said. “Car feels great; everything feels fantastic.”

Marcus Ericsson held the top spot for the majority of the afternoon before ultimately finishing fourth-fastest, leaving Romain Grosjean to round out the top five.

On a day when the top of the screens were largely dominated by Honda, Arrow McLaren backed up O’Ward’s P1 with Alexander Rossi in seventh and Rosenqvist ninth-fastest. Juncos Hollinger continued to punch above its weight with Callum Ilott finishing up eighth-fastest, while Rahal Letterman Lanigan had a solid start with Christian Lundgaard 10th-fastest, Jack Harvey 12th-fastest, and Graham Rahal running well inside the top 10 for most of the session before fading back to 16th as the cars around him switched to their second sets of Firestones.

The only red flag of the session came with just under half an hour left on the clock when Helio Castroneves and Agustin Canapino stalled at different points on the track. Both were rescued quickly, and practice returned to green after just a couple of minutes.

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Rosenqvist soars to Texas IndyCar pole

Arrow McLaren’s Felix Rosenqvist captured his second consecutive pole at Texas Motor Speedway in qualifying for the PPG 375 NTT IndyCar series race and will have plenty his teammates close by when the green flag waves on Sunday at 12:15pm ET. The …

The Swede’s two-lap average of 220.264mph edged Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who produced a 219.972mph in the No. 9 Honda. McLaren’s Alexander Rossi will line up third in the No. 7 Chevy and have another member of the Bowtie family — Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden in the No. 2 entry — alongside in fourth.

McLaren’s Pato O’Ward was fifth fastest in the No. 5 Chevy, giving the team a P1-3-5 qualifying performance and all three cars in a straight line as they approach the start.

Complementing Dixon in second, new CGR driver Takuma Sato secured sixth on his debut in the No. 11 Honda.

“Arrow McLaren gave us weapons again,” Rosenqvist said. “We’ll take it. We’ve always been good here, but it’s an all-new confidence level this year.”

Elsewhere, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas impressed with a run to ninth, one position ahead of Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport’s fastest driver.

Like Malukas, the A.J. Foyt Racing duo of Benjamin Pedersen and Santino Ferrucci were high achievers in qualifying, locking in 13th and 14th, respectively, and of the remaining drivers who had a reason to be happy with their results, oval rookie Agustin Canapino qualified 19th for Juncos Hollinger Racing, ahead of Andretti’s Kyle Kirkwood, Meyer Shank Racing’s Helio Castroneves and Simon Pagenaud, Ed Carpenter Racing’s Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay, and the entire Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

“We’re disappointed,” Rahal said. “I just think aerodynamically, we’re missing something big. The car just doesn’t accelerate. I just think the cars are draggy and slow. It’s not acceptable.”

UP NEXT: Final Practice, 2:30pm ET

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Arrow McLaren teams up with Path to the Pits

The Arrow McLaren NTT IndyCar Series team has aligned with the non-profit Path to the Pits organization in an effort to draw more young talent into the sport. Having worked together for the first time last year through the McLaren Racing Engage …

The Arrow McLaren NTT IndyCar Series team has aligned with the non-profit Path to the Pits organization in an effort to draw more young talent into the sport.

Having worked together for the first time last year through the McLaren Racing Engage initiative, Arrow McLaren and Path to the Pits will resume their relationship starting at the Long Beach Grand Prix in April where “25-30 participants will have an immersive experience, touring the paddock, networking with and learning from industry insiders and gaining resume and career guidance.”

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After Long Beach, the program “will activate at multiple races, working with local colleges and tech education programs to host young adults focused on STEM careers. The program will introduce them to racing and the wide range of careers within motorsport. In addition to the at-track events, Path to the Pits participants will have exclusive invitations to virtual panels and discussions with industry insiders and professionals as well as ongoing career guidance through resume reviews, interview preparation tips and networking opportunities.”

Path to the Pits founder and president Vicky Martinez Muela has high hopes for the expanded relationship with McLaren.

“McLaren Engage has done so much to elevate the work of nonprofit organizations working toward inclusivity in motorsport,” she said. “The charitable organizations McLaren Engage sponsors in the UK are doing impactful work, and to be included among them, and the first in North America, is an unbelievable honor. In the United States, Arrow McLaren is leading the way in partnering with programs that support their sustainability goals, including Path to the Pits. With their dynamic support, the 2023 season will be filled with significance, purpose and value for our organization.”