Lexington, Ohio (July 30, 2017) – After a difficult weekend in Rounds 13 and 14 of the Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Powered by Mazda, Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser still continues to lead the Indy Lights Championship Presented by Cooper Tires by 42 points. Nicolas Dapero earned his best qualifying position, starting seventh for Round 14 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Indy Lights series schedule for the weekend on the 2.258 mile, 13-Turn road course began with one practice session followed by two qualifying sessions.
Rookie Nicolas Dapero (Buenos Aires, Argentina) picked up his best qualifying position in the Indy Lights Series for Round 14, qualifying seventh. Dapero qualified 13th for Round 13 after too many red flags would not give the time he needed to get his pace into a strong rhythm. Kyle Kaiser (Los Gatos, California) took the sixth starting position for Round 13 and ninth position for Round 14.
Round 13 did not go as planned for the team with both drivers finishing outside the Top-10. Dapero, driving the #31 American Brokers Juncos Racing car was making his way through the field, when a mechanical issue forced his day to end with only four laps to go. Kasier finished 12th.
Round 14 concluded the weekend for the Indy Lights series. Dapero had strong pace throughout the race running in the Top-5, but would have to settle for eighth. Kaiser finished 12th for the second time.
Despite not receiving the results he hoped for Kaiser still maintains the championship lead and looks forward to moving onto the final oval of the season.
“Obviously this wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for,” said Kaiser. “We struggled for pace in the qualifying sessions and races. Fortunately we’ve built up a big buffer throughout the season incase we had a rough race weekend like this. I’m still extremely grateful for all of the hard work the team put in for me this weekend, and I know we’ll all be motivated to do well at the next event. Our next step is to look ahead to Gateway this next month and get back to our strong performances that got us to where we currently are in the championship.”
Despite the results he received in both races, Dapero had one of the best weekends during his qualifying sessions where he picked up his best qualifying position for the season.
“So far this was our best weekend,” said Dapero. “We had ups and downs in both qualifying sessions. In the first one we couldn’t get in rhythm after having so many red flags and in the second qualifying we were able to put the car in seventh, our best starting position so far. Both races were totally different. Race 1 we were coming from the back and moving to the front, but a mechanical issue took us out of the race. That didn’t stop us from putting everything together in Race 2 where we fought our way to the Top-5. Overall it was a tough weekend, but we will keep working hard to end the season in the best way possible. I just want to thank Juncos Racing for all of their hard work, also American Brokers Assistance for their support!”
Team Principle Ricardo Juncos said “This wasn’t our best weekend results wise for the 2017 season. We saw a lot of ups and downs throughout both qualifying sessions and races. Nico (Dapero) showed some of his strongest pace in qualifying for Round 7. He also made some great passes in both races and really showed how much he has grown into this series this year. Kyle (Kaiser) has been working so hard this season, staying consistent and scoring crucial points for this championship. This weekend is one we want to move on from and get back the strong momentum we have had during the season.”
The 2017 Indy Lights Championship continues August 24-26th with Round 15 at Gateway Motorsports Park.
For more information, visit www.JuncosRacing.com