After Alexander Rossi’s unfortunate accident during practice in Toronto, the Arrow McLaren team has appointed Theo Pourchaire to replace him in the No. 7 car for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America.After Alexander Rossi’s unfortunate accident during practice in Toronto, the Arrow McLaren team has appointed Theo Pourchaire to replace him in the No. 7 car for the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America. Pourchaire, who was previously signed to drive the No. 6 car later this season, will be making his debut in the No. 7 this weekend. Due to his current location in Europe, he will miss Saturday’s practice session and will only experience the car for the first time during qualifying. The team’s statement explains Pourchaire’s arrival plans and Rossi’s current status: “Théo will arrive at the circuit on Saturday afternoon for the qualifying session, meaning he will miss the second practice session as he travels from Europe to Toronto. “Alexander has returned to Indianapolis to begin his treatment and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.” Pourchaire’s limited IndyCar experience includes a top-ten finish at Detroit. During his previous IndyCar announcement, he was expected to replace David Malukas in the No. 6 car, who was later replaced by Nolan Siegel.
Elkhart Lake, WI – During the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. (Photo by Joe Skibinski | IMS Photo)
After Alexander Rossi suffered a broken right thumb at the end of NTT IndyCar Series practice in Toronto on Friday after hitting the tire barriers at Turn 8, the Arrow McLaren team was in need of a new driver.
Theo Pourchaire, who raced in the No. 6, has been tipped by the team to drive the No. 7 this weekend. As Pourchaire was in Europe at the time of the call-up, the driver will miss Saturday’s practice session and will see his first time in the car during qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
The Arrow McLaren team has released the following statement.
“Théo will arrive at the circuit on Saturday afternoon for the qualifying session, meaning he will miss the second practice session as he travels from Europe to Toronto.
“Alexander has returned to Indianapolis to begin his treatment and the team wishes him a speedy recovery.”
Pourchaire was previously signed by the team to finish the IndyCar season in the No. 6 car after David Malukas was fired due to a left wrist injury he suffered in the off-season. The team would replace the F2 champion and current Sabre reserve driver with Nolan Siegel, who signed a multi-year deal.
During his limited time in the series, Pourchaire’s best performance came at Detroit, where he finished tenth.
