Limited impact but experience gained for JHR drivers at Road America

Juncos Hollinger Racing struggled to make the impact it wanted during today’s Sonsio Grand Prix, the eighth round of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, with Callum Ilott and rookie team-mate Agustín Canapino finishing P18 and P19 respectively.

This weekend’s fixture gave the team its first experience of racing on the brand-new track surface at Road America. And although the final results were not as strong as hoped, the squad did manage to gather lots of valuable data that it will use to benefit its performance at future races in Wisconsin.

Both the #77 and #78 Dallara-Chevrolets started the race on Firestone’s alternate tires, with Callum P17 on the grid and Agustín in P21.

Both men made a confident start on the 14-turn road course and progressed in the early stages. However, they were unable to maintain the speed that was needed to challenge for the top positions as the race unfolded.

After 55 laps and 220 racing miles [354 racing kilometres], Callum brought a frustrating afternoon to an end as he crossed the finish line in P18. For Agustín, who was two seconds further back, reaching the checkered flag ensured he successfully completed the 600th race of his glittering career.

P18

77 \ CALLUM ILOTT

“It was a tough weekend overall, as we haven’t really had the pace all week. But we managed to get some good restarts, some good pitstops, and made up a few positions.

“This was a learning weekend, with the new pavement on the track. So, we’ll have to review it a little bit and there’s lots to learn. We got some good points, and now we can move onto Mid-Ohio which is a bit more familiar for us.”

P19

78 \ AGUSTIN CANAPINO

“We finished P19, and it was a good race for me. At the beginning I struggled with the red tires, but after the pitstop I was back in the race. We finished in a good position, taking home some points just behind my team-mate.

“I’m happy with my performance and I’m learning a lot each race. We want more of course, but it was good to get the points. Now, we will focus on Mid-Ohio.”

TP \ RICARDO JUNCOS

“In INDYCAR, we did not achieve what we were hoping for after last year’s result at Road America. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the pace we needed. During today’s race, I thought both drivers did a really good job on the start, moving forward a lot of positions. We will now review this weekend and look forward to the next race at Mid-Ohio.”

“I want to thank everybody in the team, the mechanics, their families, our drivers, and all our amazing sponsors. They are the people that make it all happen.”

“In INDY NXT, it was a weekend to leave behind. It was obviously not the result we were expecting, after almost fighting for a pole position yesterday with Matteo. Both drivers were fast over the weekend, but we faced an electrical issue with Rasmus for him to start from the back and the red flag during qualifying meant that we started P12 with Matteo.”

“Now, we will focus on the next race at Mid-Ohio. We have tested there already and it was quite a good test for us, so we’re looking forward to the next round.”