Less than 24 hours after crowning its three newest champions, the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires handed out more than $2.6 million in scholarship prizes at the 2017 season-ending celebration ceremony, held September 4 at the Harbor Hotel Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake.
Juncos Racing was honored with the following awards:
Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Champion ($1 million scholarship) – Kyle Kaiser
Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires Champion ($790,300 scholarship and Indy Lights test) – Victor Franzoni
INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – A.J. Smith
Motegi Winning Driver Team Owner Trophy (set of street wheels) – Ricardo Juncos
At the young age of eight, Rinus VeeKay began his motorsports career running in karts. In 2011, Rinus won both of the Dutch and Benelux World Formula Karting Championships, and the following year he claimed the Dutch Rotax Max Minimax Karting Championship.
Rinus went on to win the 2013 Dutch Rotax Max Juniors Karting Championship, and also became the youngest member of Team Netherlands at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals in New Orleans. In 2014, he was named a KNAF Talent First selection driver and finished third in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy World Championship.
The young Dutchman won the MAXSpeedway Driver Advancement Program in 2015, earning a Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda Championship test at the Circuit of Americas. That same year he finished at the age of 14 second in the European Champion Rotax Max Senior Championship and second in the Rotax US Open Senior Max Championship.
In 2016, Rinus made his debut in the French Formula Renault 2.0 Vdev Championship, scoring two podiums in three races. He also finished third in the IAME Super X30 Euro series and the BNL Rotax Max Championship.
Rinus joined the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series in 2017 running the in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda Championship. He claimed one pole, three wins, and 12 podiums out of 14 races in his rookie season, along with setting three new track records. Rinus finished the year second in the championship, only seven points off of the champion, and became the first driver in the history of the USF2000 series to never finish a race lower than he qualified.
Carlos Cunha began his racing career running in karting series throughout Brazil. After two years of competing, he took a two-year hiatus to focus on schooling. In 2013, he returned to karts, competing for two more years in Brazil.
Carlos moved up to compete in the Brazilian F3 Championship in 2015, where he earned six podiums and finished third in the championship.
In 2016, Carlos continued his run in the Brazilian F3 Championship, scoring one win, and five podiums in only eight starts. He also tested in the EuroFormula Open tests in Europe.
Carlos joined the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series in 2017, running in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. That year he claimed seven podiums, and finished third in the championship.
Rob will drive with Juncos Racing in the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
For the past two years, Rob competed in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Rob earned one win, one pole position, three podiums, nine Top 5 finishes and 21 Top 10 finishes. He was also USF2000 Rookie of the Year.
In 2017, Rob also made his debut in the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 series; racing in the Middle East and India, with six Top 10 finishes.
Rob competed in the F1600 Formula F Championship Series in his first year racing cars, and he featured on the podium at five of the seven race weekends, with one pole position and two fastest laps.
Prior to making the jump to cars, Rob began his racing career in karts. Away from the track, Rob is also a serious sabre fencer.
Unlike most open-wheel drivers, Mexican Alfonso Celis Jr. began his motorsports journey running on two wheels in motocross. In 2011, Alfonso transitioned to karts, where he competed for the next three years.
Alfonso made his professional racing debut in 2012, when he joined the Formula BMW Talent Cup. That same year, he tested in Formula Renault, Mazda PRO LMRC and won the 24 hours of Mexico. In 2013, Alfonso competed in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC and the European F3. He also tested in the Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires Championship.
The following year, Alfonso joined the GP3 Series, where he would spend the next two seasons. In 2015, he also ran in the World Series by Reanult.
Alfonso moved on to compete in the Formula V8 3.5 Series in 2016, and would also have the honor to spend the year as a Formula One Reserve Driver for Sahara Force India Formula One.
2017 proved to be the most successful year for Alfonso when he finished third in the Formula V8 3.5 Championship. He also continued as the Formula One Reserve Driver for Sahara Force India Formula One.
Victor Franzoni began his motorsports career running in karting series throughout South America. In 2011, he made the jump to the Brazilian Formula Future Fiat where he clenched four consecutive podiums. That same year, Victor made the decision to move to Europe to continue to pursue his racing career.
In 2012 Victor joined Koiranen Motorsports for the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series. He also raced in the Formula 3 Brazil Open. The following year Victor continued with Koiranen Motorsports in the Eurocup Formula 2.0 series.
Victor made his debut in the Mazda Road to Indy Series in 2014 running in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. That year he captured one win, two poles, and five Top-5 finishes. In 2015, Victor continued in the USF2000 Championship for six races, where he claimed one win. During that same season Victor made the move up to join the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Championship, collecting three Top-5 finishes.
In 2016, Victor returned to the USF2000 Championship for a full season run. There he picked up three wins, two poles, and 13 Top-5’s.
2017 proved to be the most successful year for Victor when he joined Juncos Racing for the Pro Mazda Championship. That year he took home seven wins and five poles, giving him the necessary points to claim the championship. By winning the Pro Mazda Championship, Victor was awarded the Mazda Scholarship, giving him the funds to run in the final step of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder, the Indy Lights Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
Rene Binder is a third-generation driver whose grandfather was an Austrian rally champion, his father a German F3 Trophy champion and his uncle, Hans Binder, a Formula One driver in the late 70s. Rene is a four-time race winner, two-time pole sitter in the World Series Formula V8. He has competed in GP2 where his highlights were 6th and 7th place finishes in Monte Carlo and in the German F3, claiming 3 victories and 9 podiums. Rene is no test-tube racer, but rather an engineer of wood technology who started to turn his passion for motorsports into a profession after his successful graduation from the Wood Technolgoy College in Kuchl, Austria.
When not on the track, Rene works in the export department of their family lumber business, speaking German, English and Italian. This down-to-earth guy lists karting and outdoor training in the beautiful Zillertal mountains as his hobbies. He’s also an excellent skier and a big fan of Austria’s Ski World Cup Team.
Over the past 15 years, Kyle Kaiser has made his mark in the motorsports community competing in various levels of karting and open-wheel racing.
Kyle’s racing career began at age of seven on the west coast. He earned multiple podium finishes in the IFK Regional Races Series, IKF 2-Cycle Sprint Grand Nationals, ProKart Nor-Cal Race Series, Skip Barber Western Regional Championship, and the Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear.
Kyle made his professional open-wheel racing debut in September 2012, joining the “Mazda Road to Indy” Star Mazda Championship at Mazda raceway Laguna Seca. The 2013 season marked Kaiser’s first full year in Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, where he claimed three Top-5’s and received the “Quarter Master Hard Charger” award twice for advancing the most positions at Lucas Oil Raceway and the Streets of Toronto.
In 2014, Kyle joined Juncos Racing to enter his second season of the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. That year he proved to be one of the top drivers, claiming one win and multiple podiums and propelling the team to win the Pro Mazda Championship.
Kyle moved up to the final step of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder the following year, remaining with Juncos Racing throughout the Indy Lights Championship presented by Cooper Tires. During his rookie season, he scored two podiums, multiple Top-5’s and the “Replay XD Move of the Race” award at the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Kaiser returned to the Indy Lights series for the 2016 season with Juncos Racing where he recorded two wins (Phoenix Raceway and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca), three poles, and multiple podiums. Kaiser would go on to finish third in one of the tightest driver championships in the Indy Lights series history.
Kaiser returned with Juncos for the 2017 season, where he earned three poles, three wins, and many podiums throughout the year. Kaiser’s hard work and dedication paid off when he clenched the 2017 Indy Lights Championship and was awarded the Mazda Scholarship, giving him the funds to run a partial season in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
Juncos Racing is a championship-winning Mazda Road to Indy team currently running in Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Championship presented by Cooper Tires.
Juncos Racing was established by Ricardo Juncos in 1997 as a small formula car race program based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After times became financially tough, Juncos relocated to the United States in 2002 where he worked as a mechanic for a small karting team based in Florida. Juncos was then able to open the doors to his own shop and run in karting series throughout the United States.
In 2009, Juncos Racing entered in the former Star Mazda Championship (now the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires), where the team had great success in its maiden season, finishing second in the driver’s championship and third in the team championship. The following year, the team captured its first championship in the series with Indiana native Conor Daly. Fast forward to 2015, where Juncos Racing had its most successful season capturing the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires driver’s championship with current Verizon Indy Car Series driver Spencer Pigot and also claiming the Pro Mazda team championship.
In 2017, Juncos Racing announced they would enter the Verizon IndyCar series and compete in the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500. The rookie team would go on to finish a respected 15th with Sebastian Saavedra and 18th with Spencer Pigot. Juncos Racing also captured the Pro Mazda Championship and Indy Lights Championship, as the only team to win both series in the same year in the Mazda Road to Indy history.
Born into the Argentinian racing culture, Ricardo Juncos began working as a mechanic anywhere he got the chance — often as a pastime with friends, working on their racecars. While committed to learning the car and its mechanics, his true goal was to be a driver. This commitment and dedication paid off when Ricardo began racing in the Formula Renault Series at 22 years old.
Ricardo established Juncos Racing in 1997 in Argentina, but moved to Miami, Florida five years later with only $400 and a dream of creating a champion racing team. Within a week of being in the United States, Ricardo landed a job as a go-kart mechanic. His knowledge and resolve led him to reestablish Juncos Racing in 2003 as a karting team to train upcoming drivers. Team Juncos quickly gained bragging rights, winning over fifteen karting championships in five years.
In 2009, Ricardo transitioned to the Mazda Road to Indy series with the determination to make his team known as a true competitor and eventual champion. Success struck one year in, with driver Conor Daly taking the Pro-Mazda Championship in 2010.
Acknowledging that Indianapolis is the epitome of IndyCar racing, Ricardo ultimately made the decision to relocate there in 2012, and four years later he cut the ribbon of his own shop in Speedway, Indiana, the Indianapolis 500’s home turf.
Ricardo is a humble man whose leadership style stands out among team owners. As a former driver with an education in engineering, Ricardo possesses a unique ability to help translate between drivers and team engineers, making the racing experience richer and more integrated for both groups. It is not uncommon to find him in the shop completing various tasks alongside his team. He takes a back seat at times of celebration, impressing upon his team the sense of unity and rebuffing the notion that any one member is more valuable than another.
Ricardo is an esteemed Argentinian with deep-rooted ancestry in his home country, but his love for the United States is second to none. Ricardo grew up hearing stories of the U.S., but experiencing what this country has to offer has made him a true believer. Ricardo openly recognizes the U.S. as a land of opportunity and security relative to his home country. He appreciates the melting pot of cultures and the scores of honest, loyal, and kind-hearted people who welcome his passion to develop young drivers — of any nationality. This passion is the hallmark the Juncos Racing Mazda Road To Indy program.
Juncos Racing has enjoyed tremendous success over the years. Among these are the 2010 Pro Mazda Championship with driver Conor Daly, 2014 Pro Mazda Championship with driver Spencer Pigot, and taking the 2015 Indy Lights Championship with Pigot in their first season running in the new Indy Lights car. In 2017, Juncos competed in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 with a mere 64 days to prepare. Driver Sebastian Saavedra finished in a respectful 15th position, while Spencer Pigot finished 18th. The Juncos Team went on to win the 2017 Indy Lights Championship with driver Kyle Kaiser, and the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship with driver Victor Franzoni.
All of the wins and championships are impressive, but Ricardo’s vision and team philosophy are what set Juncos Racing apart. Ricardo is a proven leader who manages to integrate his love for racing and love for family, as evident from the team roster. Ricardo’s wife, Danielle Juncos, is vice president. His father (another former Argentinian racer) Cay Juncos is the team caterer, and his brother Alejandro is the Pro Mazda crew chief. The sign above the door may say “Juncos Racing,” but you don’t need to have the Juncos name to be welcomed into the extended multicultural family within.
Juncos Racing, Inc., President
2003 to present, Indianapolis, Indiana
Fittipaldi Racing Karts, Team Manager / Engineer
2002–2003, Miami, USA
Advanced Karting, Lead Mechanic
2002, Miami, USA
Juncos Competición SRL, President, Driver, Engineer, Components Designer
1997–2002, Buenos Aires, Argentina
E.F. Racing Team, Mechanic
1997, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Magic Motors S.R.L., Lead Mechanic
1995, Corrientes, Argentina
American Institute of Racing Engines, Racing Engines Technician, 1996
Technological University of Nordeste, Argentina, Mechanical Engineer, 1994-1998
National Technical School of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Electromechanical Technician, 1988-1993
1996 Formula Renault Elf 1400cc – Rosario Motorsport, Argentina
1997 Formula Renault Elf 1400cc – Team Porcelli, Argentina
1998 Formula Renault Elf 2000cc – Juncos Competición, Argentina
1999 Formula Renault Elf 2000cc – Juncos Competición, Argentina
2000 Sport Prototype – Juncos Competición, Argentina
2001 Sport Prototype – Juncos Competición, Argentina
