Early promise goes unrewarded for JHR at St. Louis
World Wide Technology Raceway, IllinoisAugust 27, 2023
Juncos Hollinger Racing drivers Callum Ilott and Agustín Canapino both had the speed to battle inside the top-10 at this afternoon’s NTT INDYCAR Bommarito Automotive Group 500, although problems in the later stages of the race meant their pace went unrewarded.
Today’s 260-lap race at the World Wide Technology Raceway was the last of the season to be run on an oval track.
In the morning qualifying session Callum showed strong pace to earn a P9 starting spot. Agustín also impressed, but a nine-place grid penalty for an engine-related infringement resulted in his race beginning from the back of the grid.
Both men made an assured start in the frenetic opening moments. A lap 1 caution period opened up the opportunity for bold strategy calls, and Agustín was one of few drivers to make an early pit stop.
Callum had a solid opening stint and was running P11, when he lost grip taking a high line and brushed the wall at Turn 2. Upon assessing the damage at the resulting pit stop, the team elected to retire the car.
Agustín’s early pitstop enabled him to swap tires later than his rivals in later stints, and he rose as high as P3 on lap 63. The Argentine displayed his signature confidence upon his first competitive appearance at the 1.25-mile raceway, opting for a six-stop strategy in the process.
Running P7 on lap 137, Agustín’s charge came to an end when he was called back to the pit road to serve a time penalty. Unable to recover the deficit in the closing laps, the 33-year-old finished the race in P22.
Even though the race results didn’t reflect the pace shown by its drivers, JHR left St. Louis with a valuable haul of data and experience ahead of the final two rounds of the season.
“To finish early on our most competitive weekend is a shame, but the positive is that we were strong in every session which is a good step forward.”
Callum Ilott said:
“We had a great qualifying where we showed some good speed and I was very competitive. The race was a lot shorter than I would have liked, and there was a lot more to show from the car, but I think that as a team it was our strongest weekend this year up until that point.
“To finish early on our most competitive weekend is a shame, but the positive is that we were strong in every session which is a good step forward.”
“It was difficult to overtake during the race, but we are still learning and will now turn our attention to the next race in Portland.”
Agustín Canapino said:
“Unfortunately, a penalty during a pit stop ruined our race when we were P7. It’s a shame because the car was in a good place. It was difficult to overtake during the race, but we are still learning and will now turn our attention to the next race in Portland.”