Juncos Racing’s Pro Mazda drivers José Gutiérrez, Will Owen, Garett Grist, and Timothé Buret look to carry the momentum gained in preseason testing over to the first official championship of the 2015 season. The team recently finished testing at Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) and Homestead-Miami Speedway, where returning Juncos Racing driver Gutiérrez proved to be the fastest in multiple sessions.
Team Owner, Ricardo Juncos, is looking forward to a strong start to the 2015 season after the impressive results all four drivers earned throughout the series official tests last month. Juncos spent the winter expanding the Driver Development Program by adding highly qualified personnel and more resources in order to give the drivers the tools they will need to be successful.
“Over the past few months we have worked very hard to be prepared for the start of the 2015 season,” said Juncos. “Through our major team expansion this winter I feel we have the best team personnel in the paddock and I am confident they will give the drivers the tools and resources they need to be successful this year. All four drivers have performed exceptionally well during the preseason testing and will only continue to improve as we get the season underway. I’m looking forward to continuing the success we earned last year, to make the 2015 season one of our strongest yet. A big thank you to all of the drivers and crew for working so hard together during the off season, and to all of our sponsors, supporters, and families who continue to support our program.”
The six race championship begins February 19th on the 2.75 mile, 16-Turn road course at NOLA Motorsports Park (North) located in Avondale, Louisiana with Race 1, 2, and 3. Drivers will qualify on February 19th at 4:30PM (EST), followed by Race 1 at 6:30PM, and continue February 20th with Race 2 at 1:15PM and Race 3 at 5:30PM. The Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship concludes next week with Races 4, 5, and 6 at Barber Motorsports Park.
Driver Quotes:
Timothé Buret (Montpellier, France): “I am delighted to enter the 2015 Pro Mazda Winterfest and be on track with all the 2015 drivers. Not only it will be the official start of the 2015 season but also a great opportunity to race before the official start of the season. I will take these two events, six race opportunities to finalize my preparation and find some more speed out of the car. It could also be a good opportunity to find some rain and gain some experience of the Pro Mazda car and Cooper tires in wet conditions. It will also be my first racing experience in the US. I don’t expect it to be very different from what I experienced in Europe but some minor differences for sure”.
Garett Grist (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada): “I am excited to start Winterfest at NOLA. It will be great to drive the new track and get time on it before the regular season. I was able to win there last year at Winterfest so I plan to do the same again. We have been working hard and plan to show that throughout Winterfest.”
José Gutiérrez (Monterrey, Mexico): “Just a few more days until we begin the Cooper Tires Winterfest! Juncos Racing is ready to start the year out on a high note. We have been working very hard this off season to get the 2015 season off to a good start. I’m looking forward to running at NOLA with a new track configuration.”
Will Owen (Castle Rock, Colorado, USA): “I literally could not be more excited for our first race. I am going in with open expectations, but I can’t wait to see what NOLA will bring. For the first time in my racing career, I really believe that I have the ability to win races. A lot of that comes down to being able to work with Juncos Racing and all the experience they have. The team has properly prepared me over the winter for this first event. No matter what happens though, I will learn a ton of things that I can apply to the real championship races.”
The Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires kicks off the 2015 season with the Cooper Tires Winterfest championship February 19- 20th on the 2.75 16-Turn road course at NOLA Motorsports Park located in Avondale, Louisiana. For more information please visit juncosracing.com and promazdachampionship.com.
