JHR drivers unable to progress in GMR Grand Prix qualifying
Indianapolis, Indiana May 12, 2023
Qualifying for the GMR Grand Prix proved more difficult than expected for Juncos Hollinger Racing drivers Callum Ilott and Agustín Canapino today, with both men unable to graduate from their respective qualifying group.
The team’s best lap times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course mean Callum will line up P24 on the grid for tomorrow’s fifth round of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, while rookie team-mate Agustín will be just behind in P25.
Callum recorded his fastest lap – 1m 10.292s – after a late switch to the softer alternate Firestone tires, while Agustín’s first qualifying session on JHR’s home track returned a best lap of 1m 10.542s.
Earlier in the afternoon, Matteo Nannini had given JHR good reason to celebrate as he secured his first-ever INDY NXT pole position for tomorrow’s feeder category race on the Indianapolis road course.
The 19-year-old’s fast start was crucial to setting a competitive time, and his lap 3 benchmark of 1m 15.319s was never bettered during the eight-minute session.
Like his new team-mate, Rasmus Lindh drove confidently and claimed P10 on his return to Juncos Hollinger Racing. With a best lap time of 1m 15.919s, the Swede will line up on row four.
“Hopefully the race pace will be better tomorrow and we can move forward.”
Callum Ilott said:
“It’s been a tough day for us, ending up P24. We changed a lot of things across the day and they didn’t really push us in the right direction. But hopefully the race pace will be better tomorrow and we can move forward.”
“We’ll do our best tomorrow, try to finish the race and hopefully fight for some points.”
Agustín Canapino said:
“Honestly, that wasn’t the best qualifying. We made some changes to the car and it felt a little bit worse than in the practice where it was okay. But that’s where we find ourselves. We’ll do our best tomorrow, try to finish the race and hopefully fight for some points.”
“We tried so hard and I want to thank all the team and drivers for their efforts.”
Ricardo Juncos said:
“First, I’m very very happy with the INDY NXT qualifying. We were always strong in the series and won two championships in the past, but this year has started with some bad luck and situations. Today, we showed we’re back. Matteo drove exceptionally to get pole and Rasmus also did very well on his first session back with the team.
“On the INDYCAR side, unfortunately it was very disappointing. We tried so hard and I want to thank all the team and drivers for their efforts. Clearly, we’re missing something on the technical side so we’re going to try and revise everything for tomorrow. We came in with a different platform from last year and tried to improve but it’s not going our way so far. We need to understand, make some changes and push for a good race tomorrow.”
“We did a lot of work behind the scenes and I think this is a result the team really deserves.”
Matteo Nannini said:
“P1 makes me very happy. We didn’t start the championship the way we wanted so grabbing pole position here in Indy definitely helps to make up for that. Now we’re focused on finishing the job tomorrow and I’m confident we can do it. We did a lot of work behind the scenes and I think this is a result the team really deserves.”
“We’ve made some really good progress as a group since Mid-Ohio and here at Indy so I’m very pleased.”
Rasmus Lindh said:
“It wasn’t a bad qualifying for me in my first event back with the team. We had a little issue with the brakes in qualifying but we’ll fix that for tomorrow and keep fighting. Congrats to Matteo on the pole which is really good for the team. We’ve made some really good progress as a group since Mid-Ohio and here at Indy so I’m very pleased.”