Race

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.

Callum Ilott said:

“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.”

Agustín Canapino said:

“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.”

Ricardo Juncos said:

“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.”

The INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix at Road America also proved to be a challenging encounter for JHR’s drivers earlier today, with Matteo Nannini finishing P16 and team-mate Rasmus being classified two places further back.

Both drivers were eager to put Saturday’s qualifying troubles behind them as the 20-lap race got underway. But it proved to be a tall order.

Round three winner Matteo ran in P11 during the opening stages but dropped back as the race progressed. Meanwhile, a tire lock-up damaged the rubber on Rasmus’ car and prevented the Swede from finishing the race.

Matteo Nannini said:

“Now that we have finished at Road America, it was not a result deserving of our speed as we have been fast all weekend. We struggled a little bit more in the race, but we can take the positives. We were competitive, especially in the qualifying runs.”

Rasmus Lindh said:

“It has been a hard weekend for us. We looked good in practice on Friday, we just struggled with a wiring issue in practice two and qualifying. Luckily, we fixed it for today, but it was difficult for me to get up to speed. I want to thank Juncos Hollinger Racing and AER for getting that wiring issue figured out.”