Juncos Racing continues it’s tradition of recruiting and developing young South and Central American talent, bringing them to the US open-wheel racing scene. The team continues to build it’s 2014 Pro Mazda Championship roster with their signing of Jose Gutierrez from Monterrey, Mexico will be joining the team for the full 2014 season. Like his new teammate Julia Ballario, Jose had raced for the team at Mid-Ohio in 2013. This will be his first full season in the Mazda Road to Indy. Last season, in addition to his occasional outings in Pro Mazda, he competed in the Latam Fórmula 2000 last season, his first season racing cars after eight years of racing karts.
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“I can’t wait to get in the car. I have been anticipating 2014 for a long time. I needed to get ready physically and mentally to be prepared for the 2014 season, and I did just that this past year. There are many talented drivers out there, so the competition will be tough. Juncos Racing is a great team with an awesome attitude. The team’s main focus is always to help its drivers get better. This season is going to be interesting to say the least.” — Jose Gutierrez, Juncos Racing
You can follow Jose on Twitter at @JoeGtz2, and check out his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/josegutierrezracing.
You can follow Juncos Racing on Twitter at @juncosracing, and check out their website at http://www.juncosracing.com/.
Official Release from Juncos Racing
Brownsburg, IN (February 11, 2014) — As one of the series’ youngest drivers, 17-year-old Jose Gutierrez will compete in the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing.
During the beginning years of his racing career, four-year-old Gutierrez started to compete in kart races. Among his many accomplishments during the years to follow, a few include winning both the Rotax Mini Max Championship and Mexican Grand National Championship; then, he earned the champion spot in the 2010 Martiga Driver Development School Shootout in Rotax karts. Following the previous titles, Gutierrez made his first appearance in the Pro Mazda Championship series at the Circuit of Americas. Here, he finished in the Top-10 in both races. He would later earn four consecutive podium finishes in the LATAM Challenge Series.
Jose Gutierrez made his debut with Juncos Racing last season in the 2013 Pro Mazda Championship at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course official series test. Later that fall, he ran with the team in the Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Race. While spending 2013 preparing himself physically and mentally, Jose mentioned, “I can’t wait to get in the car [this 2014 season].” He will open the anticipated season in St. Petersburg, Florida this March.
“Jose , our youngest driver, raced with us last year at Mid-Ohio,” team owner Ricardo Juncos stated. “He also tested at the Open Test at Barber, impressing myself and the team as he finished second in the third practice.” Confident in Gutierrez’s ability, Juncos adds, “I’m very sure that with our development program in place, he will improve race by race; and in a short time, he will be showing his full potential.”