Elkhart Lake, Wisc. – The third weekend of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires proved to be another successful weekend for Juncos Racing with Victor Franzoni claiming the win in Round 5 and picking up a second place finish in Round 6. Teammate Jeff Green earned his best finish of the 2017 season taking fifth in Round 6 in the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products.
After a dominating performance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Juncos Racing entered the weekend at Road America leading the team championship and driver championship with Brazilian Victor Franzoni.
A 30 minute practice session kicked off the weekend on the 4.014 mile, 14-Turn road course located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Qualifying for Round 5 would set the tone for the weekend for Juncos Racing with Franzoni (Sao Paulo, Brazil) picking up his third pole of the season with a time of 2:06.5835, 1.3220 seconds faster than the second starting position. Green (Peoria, Illinois) had a great qualifying run taking 10th, however would be penalized two positions and would start the race 12th.
The following morning qualifying for Round 6 did not go as planned for the point’s leader when the session was stopped twice for two red flags. Franzoni, driving the #23 Juncos Racing, car was unable to record a time, causing him to take the last starting position in 15th. Teammate Green, driving the #60 Juncos Racing car, was able to set a time to qualify eighth.
Juncos Racing bounced back later that day in Round 5 of the championship. Franzoni, who started from the pole fell to second on the first lap, however took back the lead on lap three and recorded the fastest lap of the race on lap four. The young Brazilian would led all remaining 12 laps and finish 11.7427 seconds ahead of second to claim his third win of the season. Teammate Green who started 12th, had a solid performance moving his way through the field to finish just outside the Top-5 in sixth. Green earned the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award for moving up the most positions in the race.
A thrilling Round 6 concluded the weekend at Road America for the Pro Mazda Championship. Franzoni, who was unable to set a time in qualifying, started the race in the last position. He would go on to battle his way to the front of the field, almost taking the win, but would have to settle for second. American Green, who started eighth, earned his best finish of the 2017 season claiming fifth.
Franzoni maintains the championship lead by seven points.
“The weekend went really well for us,” said Franzoni. “Everything was perfect for Race 1. I made the pole, set the fastest lap in the race and won. The car was great as always. In Race 2 I was really unlucky for qualifying after two red flags would not allow me to set a time so I had to start last. The start of the race was crazy. I was able to move up fast and be in the Top-3 by lap four. After that there was a safety car so that helped me gain another position during the restart. There were more safety cars throughout the race which did not help because I did not have enough time to get to the front. It was a great weekend though, Juncos Racing gave me an amazing car again and we are still leading the championship.”
Green, who posted his two best finishes of the season, gave Juncos Racing the points necessary to hold onto the team championship lead.
“I’m finally getting comfortable in both the car and racing with these super star guys in the Mazda Road to Indy,” said Green. “I earned the Quarter Master Indy Hard Charger Award in the first race by coming 12th to sixth. In Race 2 I started eighth and moved my way up to fifth. I have two secrets that give me the advantage I need for the improvement I have made this season. First, my teammate Victor Franzoni gives me tips on how to do the track faster because I am racing at tracks I have never been to. Second, the Juncos Racing guys know how to set up a fast car. Success is no accident; it takes several pieces to get to be a front runner in the top series in the country. Juncos is definitely all team and they play it as a team. I get input from both their Indy Lights crew and drivers. I know I have a lot to learn, but I am so much support from the Juncos Racing team as a whole.”
Team Principle Ricardo Juncos said “Everyone brought their best here at Road America this weekend. I am thrilled for both drivers as they both had great finishes. Victor (Franzoni) was absolutely outstanding this weekend. He showed complete domination in practice, the first qualifying session and Race 1. He drove perfect and pushed the car to the limits. We made a wrong decision in the second qualifying session, holding Victor back from running for five minutes since the track was still wet. We were thinking we only needed one lap, which was a risky move and proved to be a big mistake from the team. Two red flags came out and did not allow him to put down a fast lap. Victor then had to start from the back row, but was able to finish Race 2 in second, which really showed his potential and our potential as a team. Jeff (Green) has improved greatly in such a short time from the first weekend of the season. He had two amazing races this weekend and even earned the Hard Charger Award. Jeff improved in every session and continued to move up the speed charts. I am very happy with his sixth and fifth place finishes this weekend. As a team, we have proved to be fast at all tracks this year, and I cannot thank everyone enough for all of their hard work.”
About Juncos Racing: Juncos Racing is a championship-winning Mazda Road to Indy team currently running in Indy Lights 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.