Arrow McLaren Grand Prix of Long Beach: Qualifying Report

The Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team returns for its second points-paying race of the 2024 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Now, on the streets of Long Beach, the team goes into a three-day weekend ready to show the speed they've shown at St. Pete.

Continuing to improve upon its street-course package, Pato O'Ward, Théo Pourchaire and Alexander Rossi will take on the 11-turn circuit.

Learn more about what the drivers and Team Principal Gavin Ward are saying ahead Sunday's 85-lap race on USA Network.

"That was a tough one. I don't know how we go from the some of the strength we had in practice yesterday to where we ended up today. This series is wild; you never know what you're going to get."

"We just didn’t have the pace. I have no real explanation for that. I thought we were going to be able to transfer, but I think we went the wrong direction in Practice 2 and missed the window a little bit. It’s a good thing that we have a fresh set of greens for the race tomorrow. It will be tough to make the climb, but if we can get things dialed in, then we can do it."

Théo Pourchaire, Driver, No. 6 onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevrolet:

"Of course I'm disappointed because I'm a racing driver, and I always want to do the best job possible, but it was my first-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying session. It was really fun, and I pushed the limits. I have to look at the data to understand where I can find some time. I'll try to learn as much as I can on the race strategy, fuel conservation and tire degradation; it's all new to me. I'll work hard, and we'll improve. Tomorrow is the race. Hopefully we can gain some positions, and I'll go out there and do my best."

Gavin Ward, Team Principal, Arrow McLaren, said:

"That was a tough day. Obviously, those were not the results we were hoping for. The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is tight; we were a few hundredths of a second away from transferring both Pato and Alexander. It seems like today we were just missing something and the cooler conditions this morning made things a bit tricky for us. These challenges become opportunities to learn and get better, and that's what we'll focus on. Théo did a good job; he's been thrown in the deep end here and he's just been building things up. He beat everyone he realistically probably could have beaten there. We have an opportunity to learn an awful lot tomorrow, so let's see what we can do in the race."

Session Start Times