Juncos Racing

United States Juncos Racing
Founded 1997
Team principal(s) Ricardo Juncos
Current series Firestone Indy Lights
Pro Mazda Championship
Current drivers

Indy Lights:
12. Spencer Pigot
18. Kyle Kaiser

Pro Mazda:
José Gutiérrez
William Owen
Timothé Buret
TBA
Teams'
Championships		 2014 Pro Mazda Championship
2014 Cooper Tires Winterfest
Drivers'
Championships		 2010 Conor Daly
2014 Spencer Pigot

Juncos Racing is an American racing team in the Indy Lights and Pro Mazda Championship series in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder for IndyCar. Owned by Ricardo Juncos who formed the team in 1997, the team initially was based in Argentina before limited racing opportunities in that country led to the team moving to the United States.[1] The team is currently based in Indianapolis, Indiana.[2]

Ricardo Juncos

Ricardo Juncos, a second generation and former Formula Renault driver, grew up with a deep passion and desire for racing. At the age of 14, Juncos made his first steps in the racing community driving karts in Argentina. Through his success in karts Juncos was able to join the Formula Renault class competing throughout South America. After funding became difficult as many drivers experience over their career, Juncos began working for many race teams in order to continue his own racing career. During this time Juncos was able to learn all aspects of the car in and out, along with schooling in mechanical and electrical engineering.[3]

Argentina to the United States

Stationed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. and headed by Ricardo Juncos, in 1997 Juncos Racing became a full-service formula racing team. The team competed from 1997 through 2003 in the Formula Renault 1600 Championship, Formula Renault 2000 Championship, and the National Sport Prototype Championship of Argentina In 2003, the team relocated to Miami, Florida as a full-service karting team. During the first few years in the U.S., the team picked up 19 local, regional, and national karting titles. Juncos Racing moved operations north to Indiana, where they developed into a formula open-wheel racing team in 2008. After being formed in 1997 by Ricardo Juncos in Argentina, the team competed from 1997 through 2003 in the Formula Renault 1600 Championship, Formula Renault 2000 Championship, and the National Sport Prototype Championship of Argentina.[4]

Pro Mazda Championship

In 2009, the team entered the Star Mazda series. The team was surprisingly strong its first season, finishing second the driver’s championship and third in the team championship with driver Peter Dempsey .[5] In 2010 Juncos driver Conor Daly won the Star Mazda championship, winning seven of the thirteen races. Juncos' other driver Tatiana Calderón finished tenth.[6] In 2011 Daly left the team to advance to the Indy Lights series, and the team replaced him with driver João Victor Horto. Horto would finish the season fourth, and Calderón sixth. Calderón did finish third in the race at Barber Motorsports Park, becoming the first woman to achieve a podium finish in the series.[7]

In 2012 Calderón left to race in the Formula Three series in Europe, while Horto and Juncos moved up to the Indy Lights series on a limited basis, while the team signed Connor De Phillippi, Bruno Palli Martin Scuncio and Diego Ferreira for their Star Mazda cars.[8] De Phillippi would win two races and finish fourth, Scuncio would win one race and finish eighth after missing the season finale. Ferreira would finish sixth and Palli twelfth. Ferreira was named "Most Improved Driver of the Year.[9] In 2013 the team would enter Ferreira and Scott Anderson in the series, now renamed the Pro Mazda Championship. Ferreira would finish second behind a dominant Matthew Brabham.[10] Anderson finished fifth.

For 2014 the team entered four cars full-time in the series, driven by Spencer Pigot, Kyle Kaiser, Julia Ballario and Jose Gutierrez. Juncos Racing started the year off on a high note, winning the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship in both the team and driver (Spencer Pigot) championship.[11] Pigot went on to win six of the fourteen races en route to a championship. Kyle Kaiser and Jose Gutierrez both took wins in the season finale at Sonoma.[12] For 2015, Gutierrez returned to the team along with new drivers Will Owen,[13] Timothé Buret[14] and Garett Grist, who moved over from Andretti Autosport.[15]

Indy Lights

In 2012 the team made its first attempt to field a car in the Indy Lights series (the next series above Pro-Mazda), with one car which was limited to six of the twelve races with three different drivers taking the wheel.

In November 2014, the team announced it would be fielding two cars full-time in the series for 2015, and would be elevating drivers Spencer Pigot and Kyle Kaiser from Pro Mazda to be the drivers.[16] Pigot began the 2015 season with five straight podium appearances, including winning both races of the doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park.[17] With six wins and nine podiums in 16 races, he was crowned champion over Jack Harvey and Ed Jones.

IndyCar Series

In May 2015 Ricardo Juncos announced the team would be building a new facility in Speedway, Indiana (home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway), with the intention of future participation in the IndyCar Series. The facility, called the Juncos Technical Center, would cost three million dollars and be 41,000 square feet in size.[18]

Drivers

Indy Lights (2012–present)

Pro Mazda Championship (2009–present)

References

  1. ↑ Our Story Juncosracing.com.
  2. ↑ Team Information Juncosracing.com
  3. ↑ http://www.juncosracing.com/about-us/
  4. ↑ http://www.juncosracing.com/about-us/
  5. ↑ Juncos Racing: Instant contenders in the Star Mazda Championship Flagword.com February 1, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  6. ↑ Callcap Sponsorship Conor Daly Secures 2010 Star Mazda Championship Callcap.com, August 31, 2010.
  7. ↑ Calderon Takes Podium And Career Best Finish At Barber The Auto Channel, April 11, 2011
  8. ↑ Juncos Signs Horto For Firestone Indy Lights; De Phillippi, Scuncio For Star Mazda March 16, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ JOSÉ GUTIÉRREZ RETURNS TO JUNCOS RACING FOR THE 2015 PRO MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP Promazdachampionship.com
  10. ↑ Pro Mazda: Brabham Crowned Champion Eforumlacarnews.com, August 12, 2013.
  11. ↑ http://www.juncosracing.com/juncos-racing-captures-the-2014-cooper-tires-winterfest-championship/
  12. ↑ Tony DiZinno MRTI: Pigot claims Pro Mazda, Latorre USF2000 titles Saturday in Sonoma Motor Sports Talk on NBCSports, Aug 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ Owen joins Juncos team for Pro Mazda season Indycar.com, November 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ TIMOTHÉ BURET COMMITS TO JUNCOS RACING FOR 2015 PRO MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP Promazdachampionship.com, December 3, 2014
  15. ↑ DiZinno, Tony (December 16, 2014).MRTI: Burkett, Grist, Thompson confirmed for rides Motor Sports Talk on NBCSports
  16. ↑ Juncos confirms two-car Indy Lights program, including Pro Mazda champ Spencer Pigot - Motor Sports Talk on NBC Sports, November 6th, 2014.
  17. ↑ DiZinno, Tony (Apr 29, 2015) Spencer Pigot’s first Indy Lights weekend sweep the next step in his career - Motor Sports Talk on NBC Sports. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  18. ↑ Glendenning, Mark (May 7th 2015) Indy Lights team Juncos Racing expands with eye on IndyCar Autosport.com.

External links

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