Theo Pourchaire from Arrow McLaren participated in 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 portion of JHR driver Agustin Canapino’s loyal supporters often respond with great enthusiasm to on-track collisions or off-track disorder. Unfortunately, drivers Theo Pourchaire and Callum Ilott have both faced online harassment for their involvement in a race incident with Canapino. However, the situation escalated this time as Arrow McLaren decided to terminate its commercial partnership with JHR. The chaos witnessed at the Detroit Grand Prix and its aftermath were the primary factors behind this decision.
What happened to Théo Pourchaire after the Detroit Grand Prix?
During lap 60 of the eventful 100-lap Detroit Grand Prix, Theo Pourchaire raced into Turn 3 at an excessive speed and ultimately crashed into Agustin Canapino, a driver from Juncos Hollinger Racing. As a consequence of this maneuver, Pourchaire received a penalty and was obliged to relinquish three positions due to the collision.
Pourchaire faced a barrage of hate following a minor incident in a race that was already riddled with such occurrences. The track made it exceedingly difficult to overtake without making contact with another racer.
On Monday, Arrow McLaren expressed their condemnation of the abuse and mentioned JHR in their post on X. Theo Pourchaire referenced McLaren’s post to disclose that he had encountered “an overwhelming amount of hate and death threats,” a statement which Canapino refuted.
Moreover, Canapino stated in a social media post on X that he had not come across any death threats and frequently experiences hateful messages. He advised Pourchaire to develop the ability to cope with such mistreatment. However, RACER’s Marshall Pruett contradicted Canapino’s claim by reporting that he had personally witnessed specific posts containing death threats or severe harm wishes towards Pourchaire. One user even messaged Pourchaire expressing their desire for his aeroscreen to malfunction and cause his head to be split in half.
Canapino faced additional backlash for endorsing posts on X platform that criticized Pourchaire for voicing his opinions.
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
In a recent press release, Arrow McLaren disclosed their immediate decision to terminate their commercial alliance with Juncos Hollinger Racing.
“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.”
Arrow McLaren entered into a commercial agreement with Juncos Hollinger in the off-season leading up to 2024. As part of this deal, McLaren was given permission to use JHR’s race cars’ rear tyre ramps as an additional space for sponsorship. In case there wasn’t enough room on McLaren’s three main race cars, any excess logos would be placed on the JHR machine.
Up until now, McLaren has not made use of the rear tire ramp space on the JHR Chevys.
Juncos Hollinger Racing stated that their strategic partnership with Arrow McLaren has officially ended today. They expressed gratitude for the time they have spent with McLaren over the past months.
“We find great pleasure in competing against a world-class organization week after week. Although the partnership did not yield the desired outcomes, we hold them in the highest regard and have full confidence in the future of Juncos Hollinger Racing.”
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