Arrow McLaren drops partnership with team linked to Theo Pourchaire abuse
Theo Pourchaire of Arrow McLaren during the IndyCar Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
Arrow McLaren has ended its commercial partnership with IndyCar team Juncos Hollinger Racing after JHR refused to address Argentine fans of the team sending abusive social media messages to Theo Pourchaire.
A small section of JHR driver Agustin Canapino’s dedicated fanbase tends to react to on-track crashes or off-track chaos quite bombastically, and drivers Theo Pourchaire and Callum Ilott have both been on the receiving end of online abuse for making contact with Canapino during a race. This time, things went a step further; Arrow McLaren ended its commercial alliance with JHR today, citing the chaos at the Detroit Grand Prix and the aftermath as its reasoning.
What happened to Théo Pourchaire after the Detroit Grand Prix?
On lap 60 of the crash-filled 100-lap Detroit Grand Prix, Theo Pourchaire entered Turn 3 with too much speed and collided with Juncos Hollinger Racing driver Agustin Canapino. Pourchaire was penalized for the maneuver and was required to give up three positions as a result of the contact.
It was a small incident in a race filled with them — in fact, it was nearly impossible to overtake at the track without making contact with someone — but it resulted in a lot of hate being sent Pourchaire’s way.
Arrow McLaren denounced the abuse on Monday, tagging JHR in its post on X. Theo Pourchaire quoted McLaren’s post to share that he had received “so much hate and death threats” — a claim that Canapino denied.
Further, in a post shared on X, Canapino claimed that he had seen no death threats, and that he often receives hate; he advised Pourchaire to learn to live with the abuse. However, Marshall Pruett of RACER reported that he had been shown certain posts and could confirm they included threats of death or mortal injury — including one user who messaged Pourchaire to share that he hopes Pourchaire’s aeroscreen fails and “splits your head in half.”
Canapino received further criticism for liking posts on X that criticised Pourchaire for speaking out.
What’s going on with Theo Pourchaire in IndyCar?
McLaren release statement as Theo Pourchaire receives death threats after IndyCar crash
‘I have not seen a single death threat’ – IndyCar driver weighs in on Théo Pourchaire abuse
The Arrow McLaren-JHR partnership comes to an end
Today, Arrow McLaren announced via press release that it is terminating its commercial alliance with Juncos Hollinger Racing, effective immediately.
“This decision follows actions that occurred earlier this week on social media in regards to an on-track incident at the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix,” the team wrote.
“As reflected in the team’s social media community code, Arrow McLaren will not tolerate any form of abuse or discrimination and totally condemns the online abuse directed toward our team and driver.”
During the off-season building up to 2024, Arrow McLaren struck a commercial agreement with Juncos Hollinger; under the deal, McLaren could utilise the rear tyre ramps of JHR’s race cars as a kind of sponsorship overflow area. Any logos that McLaren could not fit on its three primary race cars would be placed on the JHR machine.
Thus far, McLaren has not utilised the rear tire ramp space on the JHR Chevys.
“As of today, our strategic partnership with Arrow McLaren has come to a conclusion. We appreciate the time spent with McLaren over past months,” Juncos Hollinger Racing wrote in a statement of its own.
“They are a world class organization which we enjoy competing against week in and week out. While the results of the partnership did not mature, we have the upmost respect for them and are confident in the future of Juncos Hollinger Racing.”
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