Callum Ilott’s audition for Juncos Hollinger Racing went well enough for the 22-year-old Briton to win the team’s trust and a contract to stay in the # 77 Chevy as a full-time driver in 2022.
The Alfa Romeo Formula 1 reserve driver and Ferrari F1 test driver will lead Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger’s team, which is actively seeking additional high profile team members to support Ilott’s rookie campaign in the NTT IndyCar Series.
In two races with JHR in Portland and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Ilott made formidable promise while learning the car, tracks and intricacies of American open wheel racing. He’ll complete the first three-race stint with JHR this weekend at Long Beach, then prepare for the 17-lap IndyCar calendar that begins in February.
Fewer private test days for IndyCar in 2022
Andretti Autosport confirms Romain Grosjean for 2022
Montoya shows great interest in the IndyCar successes of Palou, O’Ward
“With the last weekend of our three-race race on the West Coast, it’s great to announce that I’ll be doing Juncos Hollinger Racing for the 2022 season next year,” said Ilott. “Of course we had a steep learning curve here in the last few races in order to bring everything together. We have had some really positive experiences and we know what things to work on. When we know what Ricardo Juncos and Brad Hollinger have in store for the next season, and especially the winter, in terms of our testing capabilities, I think we can definitely put ourselves in a great position to start the 2022 season strong . I look forward to continuing our work and going into the winter to start a new journey here and I would like to thank the Ferrari Driver Academy for giving me this opportunity. “
Ilott comes to JHR after a runner-up in the 2020 F2 championship, where he clinched three wins, while placing in the overall standings behind Mick Schumacher from Haas F1 and ahead of Yuki Tsunoda from Alpha Tauris. In the absence of opportunities to drive in Formula 1, Ilott opened the door to IndyCar with a deployment of Juncos in August. The invitation to stay came after another promising performance on Sunday, with Ilott and No. 77 in the 27-car field except for the 19th.
“We are very happy to announce Callum full-time in the team,” said team owner Ricardo Juncos. “His maturity, speed on the track and his feedback are absolutely amazing as he is only 22 years old. We were very impressed with his feedback and the physical condition from Callum to Laguna. After a long, tough race at Laguna, he got out of the car without feeling tired. Given that Laguna was a full green flag race, Callum turned out to be in incredible shape.
“We know that we are not the fastest car on the track and that we still have a lot to develop, but Callum is pushing to get everything out of the car and has shown great speed. Callum has shown us over the past few weeks that he is the right driver for our full-time race next year, so we are very happy that he is participating in our program full-time. We will build our program in all areas and we will have the time to test in order to continue our development as a team.
RACER has also learned that if enough sponsorship and the right machinery and engineering staff can be found, JHR will also be interested in starting a second start next season with an experienced IndyCar driver who will introduce Ilott to his Oval races and the numerous venues leads and supervises he will visit him for the first time.
The post Ilott returns with Juncos Hollinger for the entire IndyCar season in 2022 first appeared on monter-une-startup.
