Ilott: IndyCar Test Helped “Warming Up” for WEC Kickoff

Callum Ilott’s impromptu IndyCar test with Arrow McLaren helped the British driver “get warmed up again” heading into his FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar debut with Hertz Team JOTA.

Prior to the start of the WEC Prologue at Lusail International Circuit, Ilott sampled one of McLaren’s Chevrolet-powered IndyCars in place of regular driver David Malukas.

Malukas suffered a wrist injury mountain biking and subsequently underwent surgery, which ruled him out for a test at Homestead Miami Speedway that Ilott subsequently stood in for.

“Wednesday last week I was in the U.S. and Friday morning I arrived here, so it was busy,” Ilott told Sportscar365.

“I was going to the U.S. anyway and I think the day before I was flying out I saw the injury from one of the McLaren drivers.

“I sent them a message going like, ‘Look, I’m going to Indianapolis anyway, I’ll give you my seat if you want to do something.’

“I’d planned to be back in the UK a lot earlier than I was, so the travel was not as bad. But then things kind of moved quite quickly and it was pretty clear to jump in for a test to see. That went well, so that was good.”

Ilott’s travel schedule was actually made slightly easier by the delayed start to the Prologue, which was pushed back by two delays due to logistical issues.

“I had to fly from [the U.S.], stop in London, get my stuff for this and then fly out here,” Ilott said.

“So it was alright, the Prologue obviously got moved, which meant that there was less of a stress on that side. But we’ve been flat out here ever since we arrived.”

Even though the two cars he has been driving are very different in nature, Ilott said that the test was beneficial as it allowed him to get back into a driving rhythm coming out off the off-season.

The 25-year-old sampled JOTA’s 963 during a test in Qatar in November, but his last competitive race outing came when he joined Wright Motorsports for the Indianapolis 8 Hour in October.

“It was quite good after three months of not driving to jump in and get warmed up again,” Ilott said.

“So that helped me coming into the Prologue. And then this car, yeah, it’s very technical. There’s a lot going on and a lot of protocols which you have to learn.

“To be fair, I was still in the learning process of the car. So even though jumping from one to the other in driving style and technicality is quite different, I didn’t have a big problem with it.

“So it was good. I felt very prepared for it. Big thanks to JOTA for allowing me to do the test, but it helped a lot as well to be in the rhythm already, even if the car is quite different.”

McLaren’s IndyCar squad is yet to announce who will replace Malukas for the opening round at St. Petersburg, which takes place the weekend after the WEC curtain-raiser.

Should Ilott get the call to stand in for Malukas, he would likely only be available for the Florida street race as well as non-championship event at The Thermal Club, as the next round in Long Beach clashes with the 6 Hours of Imola.

“To be fair, I’ve left all the stuff involving me in the U.S. in someone else’s hands,” Ilott said.

“Because honestly, I’ve been so busy here that I haven’t really been able to do too much on that side.

“So I’m going to be full focus here and then I think once the race is done, I’ll see what the plan is. I’m sure it’s already taken care of if I go there or not.”