Callum Ilott in the Honda Indy Toronto
Toronto, Canada (July 17, 2022)– NTT INDYCAR SERIES rookie Callum Ilott brought home the No. 77 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet in 14th place today in the Honda Indy Toronto after suffering a damaged wing early in the race. Ilott was able to recover quickly after going into the runoff and finish all 85 laps.
The three-day event began with practice Friday afternoon on the 1.786 mile, 11-turn temporary street course located in downtown Toronto. The No. 77 JHR Chevrolet struggled to find the pace throughout the session, finishing 23rd overall. The team was able to improve during the second practice session Saturday morning, finishing 18th.
Saturday afternoon the NTT INDYCAR SERIES returned to the track for three rounds of knockout qualifying. Ilott, who has had great success in qualifying on all road courses this season, was placed in the first group of the first round of qualifying. For the fifth time this season, Ilott was able to advance out of the first round into the second round of qualifying. The No. 77 JHR Chevrolet narrowly missed making it to the final round into the fast six, settling for the seventh starting position on the grid.
A 30-minute warm-up session kicked off the day Sunday morning, where Ilott finished 10th overall.
The green flag waved that afternoon for 85-laps of the Honda Indy Toronto. Most drivers were able to make it through one pit stop, before multiple cautions began to come out. Ilott, who had a solid run going early in the race, unfortunately suffered damage to the front wing, after slight contact with another driver’s rear tire, while Ilott was overtaking down the straight. Shortly after, Ilott went into the runoff but was able to recover quicky and return to the back of field. Ilott made multiple passes throughout the remaining laps and came back to finish 14th.
“Not a bad end, after we unfortunately had some damage after overtaking another car on the front straight,” said Ilott. “They just moved a little bit and I caught the front wing on their rear tire. After that I think we were close to a lap down, but I managed to come back and put in some great laps and some good moves to get back to P14. I almost got Rinus (VeeKay) for P13. We had a good car and great speed. It’s kind of bittersweet because it was a great drive, but there was a lot more probably out of it and the result if we didn’t have that incident in the beginning. A big thanks to the team, I think we had a great car this weekend, definitely one of the faster ones. So, thanks again to the team and to Team Chevy.”
“Even though we didn’t get the finish we wanted, Callum drove a great race and the team gave him an incredible car,” said JHR Co-owner and Team Principal Ricardo Juncos. “We started off the weekend in the back but were able to move forward and have another amazing qualifying run. We are so close to making it to the fast six, and I am confident we can do it before the season wraps up. Today’s race was pretty eventful, so for the No. 77 JHR Chevrolet to come home 14th, even after suffering damage, isn’t a bad way to end the weekend. I want to thank all of the JHR crew for their hard work, our amazing sponsors, and incredible fans.”