Former Force India Formula 1 team test driver Alfonso Celis Jr. is set to make his IndyCar debut next month at Road America driving for Juncos Racing.
Alfonso Celis Jr. is set to make his IndyCar debut in the 2018 Kohler Grand Prix at the 14-turn, 4.048-mile (6.515-kilometer) Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Sunday, June 24.
Celis Jr., 21, is set to make his IndyCar debut driving the #32 Chevrolet for Juncos Racing, which is currently being driven on a part-time basis by 22-year-old rookie and 2017 Indy Lights champion Kyle Kaiser and 26-year-old rookie Rene Binder.
The 21-year-old Mexican driver currently drives for Juncos Racing in Indy Lights on a part-time basis. He sits in 10th place out of 10 drivers in the championship standings with finishes of seventh and eighth place in his two races so far this season. Both of those races took place at Barber Motorsports Park almost three weeks ago.
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In each of the past two years, Celis Jr. served as a test driver for the Sahara Force India Formula 1 team. In the 2016 season, he test drove in Bahrain, Russia, Austria, Italy, the United States of America and Abu Dhabi, and last season, he test drove in Austria, Hungary and Mexico.
Celis Jr.’s professional racing career began in 2011 when he won the Campeonato Turismos de Velocidad 1800 cc championship. He has competed in several other series since then, including the GP3 Series in the 2014 season and the 2015 season, and he most recently competed in the World Series Formula V8 3.5 from the 2014 season to the 2017 season. He finished in third place in the series championship standings last season.
Here is what Celis Jr. had to say about getting the opportunity to drive for Juncos Racing at Road America later this IndyCar season, according to Motorsport.com.
"“I’m very excited to be able to make my IndyCar series debut. This is something that I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid and something that we have worked for many years to achieve. I’ve had a lot of experience in Europe with high-downforce and high-horsepower cars, both in my testing duties in Formula 1 and in my seasons at World Series V8 3.5, so I feel ready to take on this new challenge.“The competition in IndyCar is very high and I know it will be hard work, but we will work with the Juncos team so that we can catch up as quickly as possible. I’m really looking forward to Road America and to the opportunities that this will open.”"
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Be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 24 to watch Alfonso Celis Jr. in his IndyCar debut in the 2018 Kohler Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.