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McLaren Indy 500 washout was a comedy of errors: 'We defeated ourselves'

INDIANAPOLIS — The comedy of errors that doomed McLaren's disastrous return to the Indianapolis 500 began months before Fernando Alonso failed to qualify for the race. How bad was it? A week before Alonso's first test in the car, the team realized it didn't even have a steering wheel. McLaren CEO Zak Brown acknowledged Monday the team was woefully unprepared, and small oversights snowballed into the final result. Bob Fernley, the head of the operation, was fired hours after Alonso missed the race, and Brown returned to England to digest the embarrassment of his venture. Brown on Monday provided The Associated Press a detailed timeline of the bloopers and blunders that led to Alonso missing the race, the last piece the two-time Formula One champion needs in his quest to win motorsports' version of the Triple Crown. "I don't think we came into this arrogant, I think we were unprepared," Brown said. "We didn't deserve to be in the race and it's our own fault. It's not like we showed up and gave our best. We defeated ourselves." The path to missing the 33-driver field began when the car was not ready the moment Texas Motor Speedway opened for the April test. Brown had personally secured a steering wheel the previous week from Cosworth to use for the test, and the mistakes piled up from there. "We didn't get out until midday, our steering wheel was not done on time, that's just lack of preparation and project management organizational skills," Brown said. "That's where this whole thing fell down, in the project management. Zak Brown should not be digging around for steering wheels." A cosmetic issue at the Texas test haunted McLaren deep into last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. McLaren purchased a car from technical partner Carlin, and though the car was orange when McLaren received it, it was not the proper McLaren "papaya orange." It had to be repainted after the test, and that still had not been completed when Alonso crashed his McLaren-built car last Wednesday. "We will look at what we learned here, and the list is a mile long." The Carlin spare was in a paint shop 30 minutes from the track, more than a month after McLaren complained about the color, and it ultimately cost McLaren almost two full days of track time. The team looked foolish as other teams were able to move into backup cars in mere hours; James Hinchcliffe crashed in Saturday qualifying and was back on track in his spare that afternoon.

Leno already piling on the miles in his McLaren P1

When you have a garage like Jay Leno's – and let's face it, few in the world do – it would take something truly special to get you to either travel far away from your prized collection, or drive any one car more than the 900 others you've got at your disposal. But the 2015 McLaren P1 is just such a car. Back in September, Jay became one of the first people in the world outside the company to drive the new hybrid hypercar. And he was also the first customer to take possession of a new P1 in the United States. That was a matter of mere weeks ago, and he's already put on over a thousand miles on the odometer – 880 of those within the first five days, according to the man himself. Which is really saying something, considering all the other cars he has to choose from – among them several other McLaren models, including a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, an MP4-12C and an original McLaren F1. Watch the video below to see Jay chat with McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt and see what the former talk show host has to say about one of the most capable performance machines he's ever owned – which is to say, one of the most capable performance machines ever made. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Related Gallery 2015 McLaren P1: First Drive View 39 Photos News Source: Jay Leno's Garage via YouTubeImage Credit: Gallery images copyright 2014 Matt Davis / AOLTip: Drizzy Celebrities McLaren Coupe Performance Videos Jay Lenos Garage mclaren p1 Mike Flewitt

Rare Ford Mustang ASC McLaren is a piece of '80s history

You can't blame the dealer for advertising this oddball convertible as a "Ford Mustang McLaren." The name certainly rolls off the tongue better than "Ford Mustang ASC McLaren," and it makes the car sound a whole lot more appealing. However, without the 'ASC' in there, you don't get the full picture. And when it comes to the world of strange automotive collaborations—particularly those of the 80s—you most definitely want the full picture. ASC McLaren Mustangs were the result of fortuitous timing, and a project that was already underway between the American Sunroof Company and McLaren (no, not that McLaren). Detroit custom car builder Peter Muscat brought the idea of a Mustang with a tonneau cover to ASC after chopping the top off a Fox body on his own, and in turn ASC founder Heinz Pretcher brought the concept to Ford. Big blue was already in the midst of relaunching a Mustang convertible, which had been absent from the lineup for 10 years, so initially it was the Mercury Capri that got the ASC/McLaren treatment. The result was a car that was more expensive than a Mustang GT, and coupled with declining sales of the Capri overall, the car was discontinued in 1986, paving the way for the ASC McLaren Mustang you see here on eBay. With the change over to the Mustang as their platform for modification in 1987, ASC McLaren were given the opportunity to create something notable. Customizing the Capri was one thing, but the Mustang name carries with it iconic status. So what did ASC McLaren do with their chance to leave their mark on automotive history? They gave the car some visual modifications, both inside and out, but like the Capri, left the powertrain untouched. Also like the Capri, the cars still ended up costing more than $20,000. Between the high price, the economic woes of the late 80s, and disputes between Muscat and Pretcher, the ASC McLaren Mustangs were no more by 1990. During the three year run, 1,806 ASC McLaren conversions were completed, making them quite rare, especially low mileage examples like this one. The 5.0 V8s are known for being stout engines, capable of handling serious modification, and logging lots of miles, so there are no concerns there. The 5-speed Borg-Warner transmission that came in all Mustang GTs is also known for being a durable unit, the '87-'90 versions especially so. The main concern here would be the life the car has lived, and more importantly where it has lived.