Alfonso Celis Jr. Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer PORTLAND, Oregon — Off the track, Juncos Racing driver Alfonso Celis, Jr. of Mexico City is an avid soccer fan,  rooting for Real Madrid and Tigres UANL. On the track, though, he’s all business and looking to make a name in open wheel racing as he’s set to make his second career Verizon IndyCar Series start at Portland International Raceway Sunday. However, the former Force India test driver has seen himself waiting on the sidelines, eager to run as many races possible. The task hasRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Friday has come and gone for the Kohler Grand Prix and the Verizon IndyCar Series and its support ladder had many interesting tidbits coming out of Road America. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden topped both practice sessions with an overall Friday best lap of 1 minute, 42.6279 seconds for an average speed of 140.804 mph. However, behind Newgarden in each session were a large amount of Hondas ready to pounce on the defending series champion. Honda had four of the top five positionsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, WI — Alfonso Celis Jr. is making his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America but the Mexican racer found that the tire barriers are unforgiving. The No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet found a new home against the Turn 13 tire barrier after Celis pushed hard to find extra time during his fourth lap of Friday’s second practice session. The resulting contact broke off the rear wing and damaged the car’s suspension. Celis had tested at the 4.048 mileRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. – The top two rungs on the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will end a one-month hiatus this weekend when they return to action at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala. The scenic and challenging 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course will play host to a pair of races each for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series headline event. Urrutia Seeks to Extend Indy Lights Points Advantage TheRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The final step on the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires might have the smallest field, but top to bottom the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires has an extremely stacked field going for a one million dollar scholarship package to move to the Verizon IndyCar Series. First, let’s look at the schedule. The 2018 schedule is identical in layout to 2017 except for two changes. The final race weekend is now at Portland International Raceway and it’s also a doubleheader weekend instead ofRead More

Indianapolis, IN (February 23, 2018) – Juncos Racing announced today that Mexican Alfonso Celis Jr. will join the team for the 2018 Indy Lights Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Celis is the second driver to commit to the reigning 2017 Indy Lights Champions. Alfonso Celis Jr. (Puebla, Mexico) joins the Indy Lights Championship after a successful season in the World Series Formula V8, where he claimed one pole and one win to finish third in the championship. Celis was also a Formula One Reserve Driver for Sahara Force India FormulaRead More

Valtteri Bottas beat Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by almost half a second to top the timesheet in first practice for this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. The Finnish driver set a best time of 1:17.824s on Pirelli’s ultrasoft tyres with Hamilton 0.466s behind and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen a further tenth back in third place. Hamilton goes into this weekend’s race knowing that fifth place or better will seal his fourth Drivers’ title but the Briton has stated that he would like to claim the crown with a victory. That aimRead More

Just two days after the Bahrain Grand Prix, Formula One teams were back in action at the Sakhir Circuit, with Lewis Hamilton topping the timesheet for Mercedes as F1’s first in-season test of 2017 got underway. The session start was briefly delayed while shopping containers were removed from near to the pit lane exit and Hamilton too suffered an early setback as his Mercedes ground to a halt soon after running began. His car was recovered to the garage and after an electrical fault was identified and rectified last Sunday’sRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Alfonso Celis Jr. will reprise his role as Force India’s development driver by stepping in for an FP1 session during the Austian Grand Prix weekend. The Mexican will replace fellow countryman Sergio Perez for the Friday morning session – it will be third time this season Celis will appear in FP1. The 19-year-old also piloted the VJM09 during pre-season and in-season testing. In addition to his role at Force India, Celis also competes in the Formula V8 3.5 Series, collecting one podium in eight races soRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Force India is handing Alfonso Celis Jr. the keys and allowing the young Mexican to make his official Formula 1 debut at the opening free practice session during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. Celis, 19, will replace fellow countryman Sergio Perez at the Sakhir International Circuit, in what will be his first of seven scheduled outings for the 2016 season. The development driver took part in a Pirelli tire test at the end of last season at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and alsoRead More