Kyle Kaiser Paces Indy Lights Field at Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test
Juncos Racing proved to be quickest overall during the fifth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy test in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires line up this past weekend at the Circuit of The Americas.
Kyle Kaiser took the top spot for Juncos Racing on the 3.4 mile, 20-Turn road course, while rookies José Gutiérrez and Zachary Claman Demelo made their first official run in the Indy Lights series.
The three car line up for Juncos Racing completed a total of 234 laps during the two day, six session test. The team continued with their strong momentum since winning the 2015 Indy Lights drivers’ championship, with all three drivers running inside the Top-3 throughout the weekend.
American Kyle Kaiser (Santa Clara, California), who only ran the first day, locked down the fastest time overall and could not be matched the final day of testing. Kaiser will rejoin Juncos Racing for his sophomore season in the 2016 Indy Lights Championship.
“I was pleased with the progress we made throughout the test day,” said Kaiser. “Even though we’re testing on a track we will not race on next season, it’s important to go through the process of developing the car and trying various set ups. At the end of the day we gained some valuable knowledge, plus it was really fun to drive on one of my favorite tracks!”
Rookie Zachary Claman Demelo (Montreal, Canada) made his official debut with Juncos Racing in the Indy Lights series, running as high as second throughout the two days and finishing with the third quickest time overall. Claman Demelo recently competed in the F3 Cup and Formula Renault 2.0 series in Europe.
“I am very happy with how the weekend went,” said Claman Demelo. “I hope we can continue with this momentum into the next test. The team has been extremely helpful and I progressed in every session so hopefully we can continue with our pace.”
Rookie José Gutiérrez (Monterrey, Mexico) made his first appearance behind the wheel of the Mazda powered Dallara-IL15 this past weekend, finishing fourth overall. Gutiérrez spent the past two seasons running in the Pro Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing where he accumulated multiple podiums and one win.
“Driving the Indy Lights car was awesome,” said Gutiérrez. “I fell in love with it. I can’t thank Juncos Racing enough for giving me the opportunity to drive this monster on a very nice track that F1 cars have raced on. Let’s see what 2016 brings and I can’t wait to start the season.”
Team Principle Ricardo Juncos, was pleased with the results all three drivers obtained and looks forward to continuing preparations for their second season in the Indy Lights series.
“We tried our hand at running three Indy Lights cars at COTA this past weekend,” said Juncos. “I have to say it was a huge success. Kyle (Kaiser) set the fastest lap of the weekend and Zach (Claman Demelo) and José (Gutiérrez) closed in on the bar that Kyle had set in day two. All three drivers did a fantastic job and all three would make for valuable additions to the team in 2016. I believe we once again proved that we are the team to beat. I’m looking forward to our upcoming testing throughout the month of December.”
For more information please visit juncosracing.com and indylights.com.
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