Callum Ilott will take over the No. 6 Arrow McLaren car for the Indianapolis 500, the team announced Monday.
The expected move became official after Ilott drove the car for April’s open test on Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval. Ilott will look to start his third Indy 500 after finishing 32nd as a rookie and 12th last season with Juncos Hollinger Racing.
“It is any driver’s dream to race in the Indianapolis 500, and I’d like to extend a thank you to [team owner] Zak [Brown], [team principal] Gavin [Ward] and Tony [Kanaan] for making this happen,” Ilott said in a statement. “I’m grateful to step into this race with a familiar car and a familiar team now in Arrow McLaren. … I feel comfortable with the team and know that we can come together throughout the Month of May to put our best foot forward come Race Day.”
Ilott is primarily driving in the World Endurance Championship this season, sitting in second place in the series standings.
He is replacing the injured David Malukas, who was dropped by Arrow McLaren on April 29. Malukas did not start a race this season after suffering a dislocated his wrist and torn tendons in an offseason mountain bike crash.
This is set to be Ilott’s final IndyCar race of the season. Reigning Formula 2 champion Théo Pourchaire is driving the No. 6 for the remainder of the IndyCar season outside the 500. Pourchaire has competed in three IndyCar races already in 2024, finishing 11th in his debut at Long Beach in April. He was 19th on the IMS road course Saturday.
Pourchaire has a scheduling conflict for Indianapolis 500 qualifying, which is taking place Saturday and Sunday, and has yet to compete in an oval race in the series. He did a test session earlier this month on IndyCar’s oval track near St. Louis.
Including Ilott, 34 drivers are set to compete for the 33 spots in qualifying for the May 26 race.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: www.espn.com