Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire successfully completed his first IndyCar oval test with Arrow McLaren and has received approval by the series to compete in oval races after the Indianapolis 500.
Amid stoppages for rainfall, the Frenchman turned 110 laps at World Wide Technology Raceway and came away with an appreciation for a new driving discipline.
“We just finished the day here in St. Louis, so it’s been a great day,” Pourchaire said. “Really happy that I was able to get back behind the wheel of the Arrow McLaren IndyCar, and to have this opportunity again was great. And the first time for me on a oval, which was really exciting, I couldn’t wait to feel like to feel the driving on a oval. I can say it now it’s really quick, really impressive. You have to be really smooth on the steering wheel, steering inputs, going back on power and you have to be really smooth in the car.”
Fast laps around the 1.25-mile oval demanded Pourchaire’s full attention.
“I’m really tired mentally as well, because it’s going super quick,” he said. “And you don’t want to do a mistake on a track like this. If you do a small mistake you can end up in the wall. And we all know that ending up in the wall in an oval is really dangerous. But I enjoyed it. It’s been a pretty good day. The pace was good.”
Although Pourchaire passed his oval rookie test, IndyCar will likely ask Arrow McLaren to have him log more oval miles before he’s welcomed into his first oval race. A mid-June test at Milwaukee could be the next opportunity for Pourchaire to learn more about the art of turning left, and a run at the big Texas Motor Speedway oval is another popular venue to train oval newcomers.
Pourchaire had the benefit of having Arrow McLaren’s Alexander Rossi onsite to confirm that the car’s handling matched expectations, and Tony Kanaan, the 2013 Indy 500 winner and the team’s sporting director, also assisted the driver they’ve nicknamed “Teddy Porkchops” at WWTR.
“I would like to thank everybody in the team for giving me this opportunity once again,” he said. “And would like to thanks as well, Tony and Alexander for helping me today getting used to the IndyCar on an oval track. So yeah, it was a good day.”