Juncos to skip Rolex 24; in doubt for 2020 IMSA season
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Marshall Pruett | December 18, 2019 3:21 PM
Ricardo Juncos will not dispatch his WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team to Daytona next month for IMSA’s season opener, and if his efforts during the brief off-season are fruitful, a new owner will take possession of Juncos Racing’s Cadillac DPi-V.R.
“Everything is ready to go, but it is so difficult to find a budget and drivers in this short period of time,” he told RACER. “We can’t make Daytona on time. I was trying to partner with a team from Europe, or lease [the car]. If I can sell it, I will.”
More IMSA!
Juncos Racing’s absence from the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and possibly the remainder of the season, adds to a slight downturn in entries for IMSA’s top class. A number of interested parties have inquired about purchasing the No. 50 Cadillac after it took part in October’s 10-hour Petit Le Mans event, but so far, it remains unsold.
Along with the shuttered CORE autosport Nissan Onroak DPi effort, Action Express Racing has downsized from two full-time Cadillac entries to one, and with Juncos out of the picture, a DPi field consisting of two Acura ARX-05s, two Mazda RT24-Ps, and four Cadillacs could lead the field at Daytona.
Juncos made its IMSA debut at the 2019 Rolex 24 and entered the first seven rounds of the year, but was forced to halt the program when Victor Franzoni suffered a frightening crash at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in early July. Although the hearty Brazilian open-wheeler recovered quickly from the accident, the new Cadillac DPi-V.R was mostly destroyed.
A new tub was sourced from Dallara, along with bodywork, suspension, and major portions of the car that were needed to rebuild the No. 50. Skipping the next two months of IMSA racing, Juncos assembled the money to prepare the new car and return at Petit Le Mans where the team finished 10th in class.
Juncos Racing,
IMSA