Double Podium Weekend for Kyle Kaiser at Barber Motorsports Park
Juncos Racing picked up their first two podiums of the 2017 Indy Lights Championship this past weekend in Rounds 3 and 4 in the Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper tires at Barber Motorsports Park. Kyle Kaiser earned two second place finishes and the pole position for Round 3, while teammate Nicolas Dapero posted his best finish of the season in the 400th race in the Indy Lights series history.
The weekend started off with one practice session for the Indy Lights Championship presented by Cooper Tires on the 3.2 mile, 17-Turn road course located just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. The final step of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series proved to be highly competitive among the 15 car field with two thirds of the cars finishing within 0.8 seconds of each other.
The following morning Kyle Kaiser (Los Gatos, California) put his #18 Juncos Racing car on the pole for the first time this season for Round 3. Rookie Nicolas Dapero (Buenos Aires, Argentina) qualified 12th.
Later that day Round 3 began with an incident on the first lap involving three cars. Both Juncos cars were spared and would go on to finish a clean race. Kaiser claimed his first podium of the season, taking second. Dapero finished just inside the Top-10 in ninth.
A down pour of rain stalled all track activity the final morning at Barber Motorsports Park, canceling qualifying for the 400th race in the history of the Indy Lights series. Starting positions were then determined based on championship points. Kaiser took the second position, while Dapero started 10th. Kaiser went on to claim his second podium of the weekend, taking second. Dapero drove his #31 American Brokers/Juncos Racing car to a sixth place finish, his best finish so far this season.
Kaiser’s two second place finishes move him into second in the championship standings.
“I’m very happy with our results from Barber,” said Kaiser. “We achieved one of our goals by getting the pole in the only qualifying session and improved in the points from fifth to second. The team gave me a very fast car and it showed throughout the weekend. I’m excited for the month of May and look forward to closing the gap in the championship.”
Dapero’s second weekend in the Indy Lights series proved to be successful as he was able to finish just outside the Top-5.
“We showed a lot of improvement in our second weekend in the Indy Lights series,” said Dapero. “That is our main goal for this year. We want to learn and grow each race as much as we can to get closer to the front. Going home with a ninth and sixth place finish makes us keep working hard to get better every time we go out on track. It was our best result so far and I am 100% confident that next race it will be better. There is a lot we need to still work on for the next race and I will keep working hard away from the track. I want to thank each and every member of the Juncos Racing team for the incredible job.”
Ricardo Juncos Team Principle said “I am pleased with our results at Barber this weekend. Both drivers started off strong in practice and Kyle (Kaiser) carried that through into qualifying when he got the pole for Round 3. Kyle did a great job in both races, and I am happy to see him pick up our first two podiums of the year. Nico (Dapero) had a great race in Round 4, and was able to make some great passes, along with hold on to his position to the end. I am really pleased with both Kyle and Nico’s efforts this weekend and look forward to a successful May. The crew did an amazing job as always giving these guys great cars. They continue to work hard both at the shop and here at the track and that pays off on weekends like this when we are able to finish on the podium in each race.”
The 2017 Indy Lights Championship continues May 12-13th on the 2.439 miles, 14-Turn road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
For more information, visit www.JuncosRacing.com
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