Lexington, Ohio – Juncos Racing proved to be the strongest team among the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires field this week during the series official test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Garett Grist topped the speed charts while teammates José Gutiérrez, Will Owen, and Timothé Buret rounded out the top five. Nicholas Dapero made his debut in the Pro Mazda series piloting a fifth car for Juncos Racing.
A total of 15 cars completed the two day test on the 2.25 mile, 13-turn road course located in Lexington, Ohio. Canadian Grist, who previously won at Mid-Ohio during the 2014 season, turned in the fastest lap with a best time of 1:19.4889, a half of a second ahead of the field. Gutiérrez took the second quickest time of the week. Rookies Owen and Buret finished an impressive third and fifth.
Up and coming Argentinean driver Nicolas Dapero, made a strong first impression on the Pro Mazda series in his official debut with Juncos Racing. Dapero joined Juncos Racing’s successful Driver Development Program earlier this year in order to learn and develop into the next level of his racing career.
After a successful first half of the 2015 season Juncos Racing Team Principle, Ricardo Juncos, was thrilled to see the team carry the momentum into this week’s test and looks forward to a tight battle for the Pro Mazda Championship.
“The results from the Mid-Ohio test speak to the strength of the team,” said Juncos. “We are a little passed the halfway point in the season and the team’s momentum continues to build. Garett (Grist) was impressive in Toronto when he won for us. He continued his domination when he was consistently more than a half of a second faster than the field. It’s one thing to have the fastest car, but to have four cars in the top five shows that our formula is working.”
Driver Quotes:
Timothé Buret (Montpellier, France): “I am very pleased with the results we received during the two-day test at Mid-Ohio. Juncos Racing has a lot of power on this complex road course. It was great to see all of the Juncos Racing cars finishing inside the top five and I look forward to carrying this momentum into the final races of the championship.”
Nicholas Dapero (Buenos Aires, Argentina): “Mid-Ohio was a new track for me and I really enjoyed it. It’s a very technical track, very difficult with a lot of elevations and blind corners. We don’t have those kinds of tracks in Argentina, so I am not used to it, but I like it a lot. The team is incredible. They’ve worked very hard which has helped me a lot on a new track like Mid-Ohio. I need to continue down this path working hard to keep growing with the car and all of the new tracks. Without a doubt I need to continue to work hard to show my best performance going into the 2016 season. This year my goal is to get to know as many tracks as possible and to put in as many miles in the car so that I can get comfortable with it. I want to thank my main sponsor Federal Seguros, Juncos Racing which has become like family to me, my Dad, Marcos Tenaglia, and Marcelo La Manna for all of their support.”
Garett Grist (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada): “The test at Mid-Ohio went great for the entire team. I ended the first day in quickest overall by over 0.90 seconds and then ended the second day fastest by 0.50 seconds. Peter (Dempsey) and I worked really hard and tried a lot of different things. It was an entire team effort. Now we will shift our focus to the upcoming oval race at Iowa Speedway.”
José Gutiérrez (Monterrey, Mexico): “The test went very well for the Juncos Racing team finishing first, second, third, and fifth which shows we have a lot of speed at Mid-Ohio. Each session we improved so we are ready for the race weekend next month. Now we have to refocus on the ovals for our next race, which will be my first time running at Iowa Speedway. I want to thank the team for doing a great job on the test and I am ready to finish the year off on a strong note.”
Will Owen (Castle Rock, Colorado, USA): “The Mid-Ohio test was very helpful in preparing us for the upcoming race next month and Juncos Racing proved its speed once again. It’s great to have such a variety of drivers and team members; combining all of their strengths together helps me a lot and everyone else on the team. I am looking forward to the race because we have a lot of potential!”
The 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires will be back on track for Round 12 July 17-18 for the final oval of the season at Iowa Speedway, located in Newton, Iowa. For more information please visit juncosracing.com.