until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Successful junior single-seater outfit Juncos Racing is set to return to IndyCar later this year ahead of a full-time in programme in 2022.
The team debuted in IndyCar with the Indianapolis 500 in 2017, in a two car team featuring Spencer Pigot and Sebastian Saavedra.
It then managed 12 races in 2018 across Rene Binder, Kyle Kaiser and Alfonso Celis Jr.
The team’s last IndyCar appearance was in 2019 when Kyle Kaiser bumped Fernando Alonso and McLaren out of the Indianapolis 500.
Saavedra scored the team’s best result in its first Indy 500 with a 15th.
Team founder Ricardo Juncos has joined forces with ex-Williams Formula 1 shareholder Brad Hollinger to bring the team back to IndyCar, and will start with three races at the end of 2021.
“The opportunity to partner with someone who shares many of the same values, passion, determination, and is forward-thinking like Brad Hollinger makes this an incredible moment in our team’s history,” said Juncos.
“I am looking forward to what our future holds at Juncos Hollinger Racing and taking our team to the next level.”
Hollinger, pictured above with Pat Symonds during his Williams F1 tenure, added: “Since we first met, Ricardo’s relentless drive for success, knowledge of open-wheel racing, and engineering expertise were quite apparent.
“His winning spirit along with our shared vision and commitment to be a frontrunning team made my decision to join Juncos Racing a simple one.
“I recently transitioned from the Formula 1 world, where the sport entertained an international audience, yet had limited fan participation in the United States.
“My view of the IndyCar Series, in light of Formula 1’s limited exposure, is that significant growth opportunities exist.”
No drivers have been announced with the programme yet, and it could use different drivers across the Portland, Laguna Seca and Long Beach races this year.
The team is perhaps best known for its success on the Road to Indy ladder.
It won the Indy Lights championship with Pigot and Kaiser in 2015 and 2017 respectively.
Current Ed Carpenter Racing IndyCar team-mates Conor Daly and Rinus VeeKay (pictured above) won the Star Mazda Championship (Pro Mazda when VeeKay won, and now the Indy Pro 2000 Series) for Juncos.
Sting Ray Robb was also victorious in Indy Pro 2000 in 2020, while Toby Sowery is currently fifth for Juncos in this year’s Indy Lights points.
International viewers can watch the Indy Lights series via The Race’s YouTube channel.
