• Latest
  • Trending
McElrea confident he can bounce back after tough Indy weekend

McElrea confident he can bounce back after tough Indy weekend

May 25, 2021
Porsche 963 LMDh-spec Prototype Unveiled at Goodwood

Porsche 963 LMDh-spec Prototype Unveiled at Goodwood

June 25, 2022
Louis Sharp leading Formula 4 field at Oulton Park

Louis Sharp heads to Croft for FIA Formula 4 round five

June 25, 2022
NEW MARC GT REVEALED

NEW MARC GT REVEALED

June 24, 2022
Singha Racing Team Porsche 911 GT3 with Earl Bamber

Four Kiwis taking on 24 Hours of Spa

June 24, 2022
Jordan Michel in front of bonnet

Join Jordan Michels on the road to Bathurst

June 23, 2022
Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport car

Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport racing at Mid-Ohio this weekend

June 23, 2022
Juri Vips Formula 1 test with Red Bull

Red Bull suspends Formula 2 driver Juri Vips for using racial slur

June 22, 2022
Subaru Impreza Prodrive restomod front

Prodrive restomod rally car for the road

June 22, 2022
Michele Mouton with FIA

Michele Mouton back in New Zealand for upcoming WRC round

June 21, 2022
Nick Cassidy's Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo

Nick Cassidy misses out at Imola

June 21, 2022
Verstappen Claims Sixth Win of the Season in Canada

Verstappen Claims Sixth Win of the Season in Canada

June 21, 2022
Saturday, June 25, 2022
VelocityNews
Classifieds
Subscribe
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Race Series
    • Toyota 86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • Super GT NZ
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Classifieds
    • Classifieds
    • Post Classified
    • Manage your listings
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

McElrea confident he can bounce back after tough Indy weekend

by Zane Shackleton
May 25, 2021
in IndyCar, International, News
0

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Porsche 963 LMDh-spec Prototype Unveiled at Goodwood

Louis Sharp heads to Croft for FIA Formula 4 round five

Hunter McElrea lamented a horrid weekend at Indianapolis a fortnight ago but is confident he can claw back the deficit in the championship over the remaining rounds.

The young Kiwi fell to fifth in the Indy Pro 2000 standings following a weekend plagued by Murphy’s Law.

A misbehaving car in qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course left McElrea starting towards the back of the grid in race one.

As is often the case of being mired in the midfield, McElrea was tangled up in an opening-lap collision that caused him to pit and fall a lap down.

He then finished eighth and seventh in the weekend’s final two races, a round he described as ‘terrible.

“I’m licking the wounds a bit,” McElrea told Velocity News.

“The weekend was terrible. Nothing went right.

“I think the fact that it was also at Indy, a place I love, makes it even tougher for me.

“Practice was all right. We were fourth and only a tenth away from the fastest.

“But we didn’t get the balance right in qualifying and we only managed eighth.”

McElrea’s qualifying was his worst of the season, and he believes that his poor performance at Indianapolis triggered the start of a tough weekend.

“We have been the best qualifier all year,” he said.

“Yeah, I had that incident in St Pete, and then that engine problem in Barber. But each of those times, the results were still good because we qualified well.

“Qualifying badly makes a lot of difference.”

Motor racing is a confidence game, and one substandard weekend can knock a driver’s self-confidence to a point they spend a long time rediscovering their grove.

However, McElrea is adapting a fresh mindset for the rest of the season.

Despite the margin between himself and the championship lead widening after Indianapolis, McElrea is convinced he can pull the gap back and fight for the title.

“It is not impossible at all,” he said on winning the championship.

“I’ve still got 11 races left, and I have pulled a gap like this back before.

“There has been a tonne of work put in by the team recently, and that huge workload is giving me the best possible package.

“Their efforts are also making me want to work harder and become a better driver.

“I don’t doubt my ability; I know what I can do.

“Once we get on a roll and get some momentum going, we will bounce back.”

This weekend’s latest round of the Indy Pro 2000 championship marks the calendar’s only oval event at Lucas Oil Raceway.

McElrea was super impressive at the oval last year, and he hopes he can pull off a similar result this time.

“Last year, to go from sixth to second at a track where it is nearly impossible to pass on meant it was probably my best-ever race.

“I have a lot of confidence heading into Lucas Oil, so let’s hope for another great race.”

This weekend’s Cooper Tires Freedom 90 will be at 12.05 am, Saturday May 29 NZT.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Race Series
    • Toyota 86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • Super GT NZ
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Classifieds
    • Classifieds
    • Post Classified
    • Manage your listings
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.