After an injury to McLaren Arrow driver David Malukas, Theo Poorchaire has been turned out as a dominant replacement for the team to drive the #6 Chevrolet at Long Beach. Usually, Callum Ilott, who usually steps in has different plans as he is going to compete in the 6 Hours of Imola FIA World Endurance Championship event. That is why the F2 Champion will be the standby driver for Arrow McLaren.
Pourchaire recently visited the team’s base, underwent a seat fitting, and spent time in a simulator. Sporting director Tony Kanaan explained that if Malukas is unable to drive, they will have someone else in the car. Since Ilott has a scheduling conflict, Theo Pourchaire, a Formula 2 champion, serves as the backup option.
“We’re still waiting on word of what’s going to happen with David if he’s going to be cleared to drive,” Arrow McLaren sporting director Tony Kanaan told RACER. “If he’s not, we’re going to have somebody else in the car.
“Obviously, whoever that’s going to be is not going to be Callum because he has a conflict. We have Theo as a backup. [He’s] a Formula 2 champion.”
The situation becomes interesting if Malukas is also unavailable for the subsequent Barber race. Ilott could be an option, but the team faces a decision: revert the car to Ilott’s settings or continue with Pourchaire for back-to-back events.
IMSA revert BoP for Long Beach
IMSA has made significant changes to the BoP process for the GTD and GTD Pro classes. Previously, manufacturers nominated their own performance expectations, leading to post-race penalties for some cars.
Now, IMSA is collaborating closely with each GT manufacturer to gather accurate data during pre-season testing at Daytona International Speedway.
Led by senior technical director Matt Kurdock, IMSA’s technical staff has designed individualized test plans for manufacturers such as Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, Mercedes-AMG, Ferrari, and Porsche.
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