Tag: Bruno Junqueira

Bruno Junqueira’s 19th-place finish in his first IZOD IndyCar Series race in two years at the Grand Prix of Baltimore may have had enough drama to hold him over for another two years.

Driving for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing in the No. 67 SFHR Dallara/Honda/Firestone car, Junqueira encountered wet and dry track conditions, sustained contact from other drivers and witnessed eight on-track incidents for 17 caution laps.

“It was a crazy race with conditions that were dry, wet and then dry again,” Junqueira said.

While rain loomed in the initial stint of the race and teams contemplated switching to wet tires, the No. 20 car driven by Ed Carpenter sustained contact on the front straight that brought out the first caution of the day. On the resulting restart, Junqueira’s No. 67 car received contact from the No. 4 car driven by JR Hildebrand.

“I was hit from behind early on in the race and lost a lap to the leaders when I spun and couldn’t restart the car,” Junqueira said.

Junqueira dug in and began ticking off solid lap times as a plethora of caution flags slowed the race.

“When the track dried and I got back on slick tires I was able to set a good pace and had several good laps,” he said.

However, the tide turned for Junqueira and SFHR on lap 66 of 75.

“Unfortunately near the end of the race, I brushed the wall after going through the chicane. My left rear suspension was broken and we couldn’t continue on in the race. I felt very sorry and frustrated because I had been making up distance all afternoon,” Junqueira said.

While Junqueira’s 19th-place finish was not what he had hoped for in his IZOD IndyCar Series return, he was happy with the work of the SFHR team.

“I have to thank the entire SFHR team,” he said. “They gave me a great opportunity in a fast race car this weekend.”

Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport led 13 laps to capture his fourth win of the 2012 season at the Grand Prix of Baltimore.

Ryan Briscoe of Team Penske and Simon Pagenaud of Sam Schmidt Motorsports rounded out the podium with second and third-place finishes.

The race was slowed by nine caution periods for a total of 24 laps, and had an average speed of 71.136 mph.

Will Power sits atop the 2012 championship standings with 453 points, but Ryan Hunter-Reay is nipping at his heels with 436 points.

The championship will be decided at the MavTV American Real 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on Sept. 15.

In his first IZOD IndyCar Series race weekend since 2008, Bruno Junqueira qualified the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing (SFHR) Dallara/Honda/Firestone car in 10th position for the Grand Prix of Baltimore.

Junqueira’s quick lap of 91.363 mph becomes even more impressive when you consider how much ground he had to cover before he even set foot on the track.

Junqueira is the only driver in the Grand Prix of Baltimore competing in American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón action in addition to the IZOD IndyCar Series race. He put his RSR Racing car on pole position for the Prototype Challenge race and backed it up with a solid qualifying result for SFHR in the No. 67 car.

“I’m on the pole for the ALMS race that starts two hours after IndyCar qualifying ended, so it’s a busy weekend,” Junqueira said after IndyCar qualifications. “But I’m ready and I love to do this.”

If there was any doubt about whether Junqueira would adapt easily to the new DW-12 Dallara chassis in IndyCar, he has removed all doubt. His solid qualifying effort came after he missed out on much of his planned practice time.

“This weekend has been a big challenge because it’s been several years since I’ve driven a single-seater IndyCar,” Junqueira said. “In the first practice session I only got two laps because of the bumps on the track. In the second session, I only got half an hour and in the third session I finally got some laps in. So I had much less time in the car than I thought I would this weekend.”

Junqueira was pleasantly surprised with his qualifying results in the No. 67 car.

“I managed to push hard in the first two laps of qualifying and ended up in tenth after advancing to the second round,” he said. “Who would have thought the team and I would be in tenth with having so little time together? I’m pretty happy with our results.”

Due to an unapproved engine change in the No. 67 car after the most recent race in Sonoma, Junqueira will incur a 10-spot grid penalty on the starting grid of the Grand Prix of Baltimore.

“It’s a shame we have to go back 10 spots tomorrow, but I know we’ll be fine because SFHR has given me a great race car,” Junqueira said.

Will Power of Team Penske earned the pole for the Grand Prix of Baltimore with a quick lap at 94.184 mph. It was Power’s fifth pole of the 2012 season, and he won the Grand Prix of Baltimore in 2011.

Mike Conway of AJ Foyt Racing qualified second with a lap of 93.494 mph and Scott Dixon of Ganassi Racing qualified third at 93.433 mph.

Sebastien Bourdais of Dragon Racing and Dario Franchitti of Ganassi Racing rounded out the top five in qualifying.

The green flag will drop on the Grand Prix of Baltimore Sunday, September 2 at 2:47 p.m. ET. The race will air live on NBC Sports Network, Sunday, Sept. 2 at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Veteran Bruno Junqueira will drive the No. 67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone car in this weekend’s Grand Prix of Baltimore as a substitute for the team’s full-time driver, Josef Newgarden, who was injured in last weekend’s IZOD IndyCar Series race in Sonoma, Calif.

Newgarden had surgery Tuesday to repair a broken left index finger suffered in a violent crash on lap 65 of the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. He and team officials are focused on the IZOD IndyCar Series 2012 season finale at Auto Club Speedway, September 15 for his return.

“I’m really disappointed to not be in the car this weekend but I know Bruno will do a great job for SFHR,” Newgarden said. “I’ll be in Baltimore helping Bruno and the team in any way I can and focusing on healing for Fontana.”

Noting Junqueira’s IndyCar experience, Fisher said the team is confident it found the right substitute for this weekend.

“It is lucky that we were able to call on Bruno for this weekend's race,” said Sarah Fisher, co-owner of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing. “He has had great results prior to climbing into the No. 67 car, and I hope we can give him the right platform to bring home a solid finish this weekend in Baltimore. I know Josef is disappointed in the circumstances, as we all are, but this team is being built around him and his seat will be ready for him when he’s ready. We look forward to a healthy and speedy recovery for Josef.”

SFHR co-owner Wink Hartman believes the No. 67 car will be in good hands in Newgarden’s absence from the cockpit.

“I am sure it will be difficult for Josef to stand by me in the pits during the Grand Prix of Baltimore, but I know he agrees that Bruno will take good care of the 67 car while he’s healing,” Hartman said. “SFHR will continue its success and Josef will be back in the seat soon.”

Junqueira, from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, is currently competing full-time in the American Le Man Series presented by Tequila Patrón Prototype Challenge (PC) class. He sat on the pole for the Sebring 12 Hours race and just recently won at Mosport Park in Canada. He and his RSR Racing team have been front-runners all season.

“I am very happy to be back in IndyCar with SFHR for the Baltimore race weekend,” Junqueira said. “Sarah’s team is very organized and has been fast all season. They have done a great job with Josef and I hope to give them a good race weekend in Baltimore while Josef is healing.”

Of Note:

One weekend, 2 races for Junqueira:

Junqueira will pull double duty at the Grand Prix of Baltimore by driving in the IZOD IndyCar Series as well as the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) presented by Tequila Patrón. Junqueira will drive in the sports car race for Rocketsports Racing on Saturday afternoon and then for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing in the IZOD IndyCar Series on Sunday afternoon.

Junqueira Stats:

35-year-old Bruno Junqueira has eight CART victories and finished second in the CART championship three times. Junqueira qualified for the Indianapolis 500 eight times and started from the pole position in 2002.