Speedway, Ind. – Juncos Racing captured their first two wins of the season in Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Victor Franzoni delivered both wins along with both pole positions to Juncos Racing in the Mazda Road to Indy Grand Prix presented by Royal Purple Supporting Lupus Foundation of America.
The second weekend of the 2017 season started off strong for Juncos Racing with young Brazilian Victor Franzoni (Sao Paulo, Brazil) pacing the field on the 2.439 mile, 14-Turn road course. Teammate Jeff Green (Peoria, Illinois) showed great improvement in his second weekend in the Pro Mazda series finishing eighth overall in practice.
The following day Franzoni carried the momentum into #23 Juncos Racing car, where he picked up the pole for Round 3 out-pacing the field by almost half of a second. Green, driving the #60 Juncos Racing car qualified 11th.
Round 3 did not go as planned when the green flag waived for pole sitter Franzoni, as he fell back to fourth and would have to battle back for the lead from the #8 Cape Motorsports car. The battle would end in Franzoni’s favor giving him his first win of the season. Green took home 10th.
The day finished off with the final qualifying session. Franzoni once again paced the field, claiming his second pole of the season. Green took the ninth starting position.
The weekend concluded just as it began for Juncos Racing. Franzoni continued his domination in Round 4, leading all 29 laps and would go on to finish over 13 seconds ahead of second place. Green was setting a strong pace throughout the race, however an on track incident forced him to take a drive through penalty. Green finished 13th.
Franzoni now leads the Pro Mazda Championship by six points.
“The weekend was perfect,” said Franzoni. “Juncos Racing gave me an amazing car. We had a successful run here last fall during the Chris Griffis Memorial Test. We led every session then, and we continued with that plan leading every session this weekend during the Indy Grand Prix. We took the pole for both races. In the first race I fell back to fourth place and had to fight my way back to first. Once I took the lead I just had to manage the race. We had a great start in the second race and took home the win. I want to thank Juncos Racing for the amazing car they gave me. We will continue to work hard because we have a great shot at winning this championship.”
Green said “I had a great weekend. We had a couple of test sessions followed by one practice session giving me time to learn the track. This track is amazing and I had a great experience this weekend driving on it for the first time. The team gave me a great car, my set up was right on track with where we needed to be. I ran within a second and a half of the fastest times, so I feel really good about it. Great job to my teammate Victor on his win!”
Team owner Ricardo Juncos was thrilled to see Franzoni pick up the team’s first wins of the season and take the lead in the championship. He was also pleased to see great improvement in Green’s pace and is confident he will continue to show strong pace throughout the season.
“We had a great weekend here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Juncos. “I am absolutely thrilled with our results and the improvement out of both drivers. Victor (Franzoni) clearly showed he is a major contender for this year’s championship and I am confident with his continued work ethic he will be successful. Jeff (Green) really gained a lot of confidence since St. Pete, he was on pace with some of the fastest cars out here. We will continue to work hard to keep this momentum going. I want to thank both drivers for all of their hard work together on and off the track. I also need to thank my team for the long hours they have put in over the weekend to give these guys great cars.”
About Juncos Racing : Juncos Racing is a championship-winning Mazda Road to Indy team currently running in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
Juncos Racing was established by Ricardo Juncos in 1997 as a small formula car race program based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After times became financially tough, Juncos relocated to the United States in 2002 where he worked as a mechanic for a small karting team based in Florida. Juncos was then able to open the doors to his own shop and run in karting series throughout the United States.
In 2009, Juncos Racing entered in the former Star Mazda Championship (now the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires), where the team had great success in its maiden season, finishing second in the driver's championship and third in the team championship. The following year, the team captured its first championship in the series with Indiana native Conor Daly. Fast forward to 2015, where Juncos Racing had its most successful season capturing the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires driver's championship with current Verizon Indy Car Series driver Spencer Pigot and also claiming the Pro Mazda team championship.
The mission of Juncos Racing is to develop young drivers from around the world into the next level of their racing careers through the Juncos Racing Driver Development Program. Through this program, the team not only works with drivers on track to improve their skills behind the wheel, but also gives them the tools needed to understand the engineering and mechanics of the race car. Drivers who have participated in the program and have gone on to compete in the next level include Peter Dempsey, Conor Daly, Connor De Phillippi, Chase Austin, Kyle Kaiser, Nicolas Dapero and Spencer Pigot.