McLaren And Alonso Lift The Drapes

Fernando Alonso’s ride for the 2019 Indianapolis 500. [courtesy instagram.com/fernandoalo_oficial]

by Allan Brewer

It is orange, all right.

If ever there were any doubt about its livery, McLaren this morning pulled the drape from its 2019 Indianapolis 500 car, and it is bright. Assigned the No. 66 entry, Fernando Alonso will not be difficult to spot on-track during the month of May.

Though the car otherwise has a very familiar silhouette, it has one thing everyone else lacks: Fernando, who will try to cap a late career run at a “Triple Crown” consisting of a win at Monaco, LeMans and Indianapolis.

“The team at the McLaren factory has worked very hard to build this car,” the two-time F1 champion said. “My hopes for the race remain the same, to win and achieve the Triple Crown, and I’m looking forward to meeting the fantastic US fans who made me feel so welcome first time around.”

The car was assembled at McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, UK. They call the color papaya orange, and it brings back memories of Bruce McLaren’s dominating racing teams (in Formula 1 and the Can Am Series) forty years ago. The number 66 is also a throwback to the late Mark Donahue’s victory at Indy in a McLaren car in 1972.

Alonso is scheduled to take two test outings prior to the Indianapolis 500. The first will come this week at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9. The track is not open to the public for the practice. The first open practice comes on April 24 in Indianapolis.

Zak Brown, Chief of McLaren Racing, said, “The reveal of the #66 car represents the beginning of the next phase of our programme, and reflects a tremendous amount of hard work by our Indy 500 team.”

Allan Brewer

Allan Brewer covers IndyCar and other racing series for RacingNation.com. Allan is a fixture at the race track, armed with keyboard and camera, eager to take you inside open-wheel sport where the news is being made. He comes to RacingNation.com with multiple professional awards from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AWWRBA). He began his motorsports writing career at FastMachines.com; and solely published IndyProRacer.com and A1GP.com, two award-winning websites for open-wheel racing’s junior leagues, prior to becoming IndyCar correspondent at Motorsport.com. He has also covered Formula 1, NASCAR, Formula E, the Indy Lights Series and its predecessor Indy Pro Series, NHRA events and major auto shows. His major interest outside of competition is automotive technology and its application to the cars we drive every day on the public highways.

racingnation.com

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