You have to go to the 90s to find an ‘overbooking’ of potential competitors like the one IndyCar Series going to face next year, and in several of the last races in more than one case. To the well-known extensions of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Meyer Shank Racing, plus the possible one of Arrow McLaren SP, and the greater participation of small teams like Top Gun Racing, will be added an old acquaintance who will return to the grill in style: Ricardo Juncos and his racing team.
Juncos Racing, which has been competing in the lower echelons of Argentine motorsports since 2009, has been present in 15 IndyCar races between 2017 and 2019 with a 15th place as the best result. Their third Indy 500, in which they made headlines when Kyle Kaiser left Fernando Alonso out of the test with a rebuilt car against the clock, was their last presence before COVID-19 and the lack of sponsorships led them to sell their equipment . Now, the former Argentine karting mechanic will begin his second adventure in the top American competition, after announcing today that his training will compete full time in the 2022 season with a vehicle.
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The financial support necessary to take this step comes from Brad Hollinger, owner of a company dedicated to the management of various medical facilities, including general and rehabilitation hospitals. His connection with motorsport dates back to 2014, when he became a Williams F1 Team shareholder. He came to own 15% of the team by buying the shares of Toto Wolff and serving as a non-executive director of the team from 2016 until Dorilton Capital acquired 100% of the capital of Williams in August 2020.
Hollinger had already been briefly involved in IndyCar, allying with the defunct Belardi Racing team for their Indy 500 appearances with James Davison, in both cases under the umbrella of outside structures (AJ Foyt Racing in 2018 and Dale Coyne Racing in 2019). His participation in this case goes further, to the point that the team will be called Juncos Hollinger Racing, and their contribution will allow, in the words of Ricardo Juncos himself, that the team can afford to choose the occupant of their vehicle.
In fact, to whet your appetite, Juncos Hollinger will be part of the grid in the last three races of this season, participating in the Grand Prix of Portland, Monterey (Laguna Seca) and Long Beach, with one or more drivers that have not yet been defined. “It has been a long process, I had Brad as a VIP guest at the Indy 500 in 2017 and since then we have had a good friendship. And now he comes here wanting to compete at the highest level “, says Juncos in statements to RACER. “We are partners, and we will start to work solidly to make the team as good as we can make it.”
Juncos has also ensured that the team will continue to use Chevrolet engines, which has Formula 1, IndyCar and IMSA drivers on its call list, and that the work of Roger Penske as owner of the category has been a solid guarantee to reach the agreement. “With the limited exposure of Formula 1 in the United States, there are significant growth opportunities,” says Hollinger. «This premise has led me to aim for an IndyCar team with engineering acumen, a culture of excellence and a track record of success. With an injection of funds to obtain the best material and talent, Juncos is a team prepared to be fiercely competitive.
At present, Juncos compete in Indy Lights with Toby Sowery and Sting Ray Robb, who are fifth and tenth overall, as well as in Indy Pro 2000 with Reece Gold (3rd), Manuel Sulaimán (6th) and Kyffin Simpson (8th). It is in these categories of the Road to Indy that Juncos has achieved his greatest success, achieving the Indy Lights titles in 2015 and 2017, as well as the Indy Pro 2000 titles in 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2020, but his transition to IndyCar was a a compendium of frustrations, few resources and a drift of paid pilots that did not have much route. Now, everything can change for the better.