Star Mazda - Juncos Racing on Track at Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

Sonoma, August 24, 2011: With just three races remaining in the 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, Juncos Racing heads to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California this weekend with the IZOD IndyCar Series. The last time the Star Mazda Championship series raced at the west coast road course was in 2005, meaning this will be the first experience racing Star Mazda cars here for Juncos Racing and all three of its drivers. The team will go into the weekend fresh off an official series test at the venue which took place last week. The overall best lap times of the test saw J.V. Horto third quickest with a lap time of 1:29.668-less than .3 off the quickest time from Sage Karam-Gustavo Menezes seventh with a lap time of 1:30.264 and Tatiana Calderon eighth with a lap time of 1:30.530.

Brazilian racer and driver of the No. 7 Juncos Racing / Programa Leiloes car J.V. Horto currently lies fourth in the series championship, 25 points away from the lead. The second-year driver achieved his maiden win in the series at Mosport International Raceway on July 24 of this year, and in eight races, he has claimed six top-five finishes, three podiums, and one win. With 44 points awarded for a win, plus one for pole and one for fastest race lap, another victory would certainly help Horto improve his position in the standings.

California native Gustavo Menezes, 16, has had a very strong season to date; he has been extremely consistent, never finished outside the top-eight positions, and even scored his first podium finish at Iowa Speedway on June 25. At the series test last week, the Marina Del Rey resident placed his No. 28 Juncos Racing / TRUECar / SafetyPark / Oakley / Racing Optics car as high as second quickest in the third session and was the seventh quickest driver overall. For the 2001 California State Karting Champion, his first season racing formula cars has undoubtedly been an impressive one that has really demonstrated his racing potential.

In her second year in the series, teammate Tatiana Calderon has excelled on the courses that best suit her racing style and improved on her most challenging ones. The results: two podium finishes, six top-ten finishes, and a current seventh place in the championship standings. Calderon's best results this season have been on road courses, making the challenge of the 2.3-mile road course at Infineon Raceway an inviting one for the 18-year-old Colombian racer and her No. 10 Juncos Racing / JAC Motors racecar.

In eight races this season, Juncos Racing has achieved eight podiums among four different drivers, giving the team an average of one podium finish per race. With those statistics, the team is hoping to see green and orange on the podium again this weekend and regain its lead in the team championship.