Bruno Junqueira
Bruno Junqueira (born November 4, 1976 in Belo Horizonte ) is a Brazilian automobile racing driver .
He won the South American Formula 3 in 1997 . From 1998 to 2000 he was active in Formula 3000 and won the championship in his last season. Junqueira competed in the Champ Car series from 2001 to 2007 and was third overall (2002-2004). He started 101 races and won eight of them. From 2001 to 2011, Junqueira also took part in some of the IndyCar Series events.
Career
Karting and Formula 3 (1987–1997)
Junqueira began his motorsport career in 1987 in karting , in which he remained active until 1993. In 1994 Junqueira made his debut in formula racing and competed in the Brazilian Formula 3 championship . He finished his debut season in fourth place overall.
In 1995 Junqueira competed in the South American Formula 3 Championship . He won a race and was fifth in the drivers' championship. In his second South American Formula 3 season, he won another race. In the overall standings, he reached sixth place. In 1997 he completed his third season in the South American Formula 3 Championship. Junqueira won six of twelve races and won the title fight with 171 to 139 points ahead of Gabriel Furlán .
Formula 3000 (1998-2000)
In 1998 Junqueira left South America for Europe . He started for the Draco Engineering racing team in the international Formula 3000 championship and was a team-mate of Giovanni Montanari . With fifth place as the best result, Junqueira was the only driver in the team to score points. In the championship he was in 18th place.
In 1999 , Junqueira moved to the second Super Nova Racing team in Formula 3000 , which was initially called Den Blå Avis and finally Petrobras Junior Team . In the first four races he scored twice and in the fifth race at Silverstone he finished second with his first podium finish. After he failed to qualify in the subsequent race, he decided the race for himself at the Hockenheimring . In the championship he finished fifth with 20 points. He prevailed against his teammate and compatriot Max Wilson , who finished eighth with 14 points. In addition, Junqueira was a Formula 1 test driver at Williams in 1999 .
For the Formula 1 season 2000 , Williams Junqueira and Jenson Button drove against each other in a duel for a Formula 1 cockpit. Button won it and Junqueira remained a Williams test driver. Junqueira drove again in Formula 3000, where he completed his third season in 2000 . He stayed with the Petrobras Junior Team, the second Super Nova racing team. He was on the podium four times in the first five races and won the races in Barcelona , Nürburg and Monte Carlo . In the next four races, however, he only managed to get more points with a win on the Hungaroring , while Nicolas Minassian , his title rival, who drove for the first Super Nova team, made up points. Before the last race of the season, Junqueira scored 48:41. Minassian had to win the last race to have a theoretical chance for the title. Fernando Alonso won the race while Minassian was third and Junqueira was ninth. With that Junqueira won the Formula 3000 European Championship.
Champ Car / IndyCar (2001-2008)
Ganassi (2001-2002)
2001 moved to Junqueira Chip Ganassi Racing in the North American CART series and drove a Lola - Toyota . His teammate was initially his former Formula 3000 rival Minassian, who was replaced after the seventh race by the more experienced racing driver Memo Gidley . Junqueira won the Elkhart Lake race and was 16th overall. He was the second best rookie behind Scott Dixon . While he prevailed within the team against Minassian, he was defeated by Gidley. Junqueira also took part in the Indianapolis 500 , a race of the Indy Racing League , in a G-Force - Oldsmobile-Aurora for Chip Ganassi Racing . He was not lapped on his debut and was the second best Ganassi pilot in fifth behind Jimmy Vasser . He was also the second-best rookie in this race behind the winner Hélio Castroneves .
In 2002 Junqueira stayed with Chip Ganassi Racing. Kenny Bräck , the runner-up of the previous season, became his new team-mate and Dixon also started for Ganassi from the fourth race. He won the races in Motegi and Denver and was runner-up with 164 to 237 points behind his compatriot Cristiano da Matta . He also took part in the Indianapolis 500 for Ganassi , this time in a G-Force Chevrolet . He achieved pole position . In the race, however, he retired with transmission problems.
Newman / Haas (2003-2006)
For the 2003 CART season , Junqueira was signed by the Newman / Haas Racing championship team . He replaced da Matta, who switched to Formula 1, and became a teammate of Sébastien Bourdais , who, like Junqueira, was a Formula 3000 champion. The team used a Lola and, like all other teams from this season, used a Cosworth engine. In the first twelve races Junqueira failed to finish in the top five only once and he scored a victory at Elkhart Lake. At this point he was leading the championship ahead of Paul Tracy . In the last six races, however, he only achieved another top 5 placement with a win in Denver and remained three times without points. At the end of the season he lost to Tracy and was runner-up with 199 to 226 points. Bourdais, his team-mate, had more victories that season, but with 159 points he was behind Junqueira in the overall standings.
After the race organizer CART had to file for bankruptcy after the season, the OWRS took over the organization of the racing series, which from the 2004 season was called the Champ Car World Series . Junqueira and Bourdais stayed with Newman / Haas Racing and were the defining drivers for the season. In the first six races, Bourdais won four times and Junqueira finished second four times. Junqueira has consistently stood on the podium in the last six races, winning in Montreal and Surfers Paradise . In the drivers' championship he finished second for the third time in a row. With 341 to 369 points he lost to Bourdais this season. The two achieved six double victories for Newman / Haas Racing, with Junqueira being the winner only once. In addition, Junqueira returned to Indianapolis in 2004 , where Newman / Haas used a G-Force Honda as a one-man team . He qualified in fourth place and crossed the finish line in fifth place in the lead lap.
In 2005 Junqueira started the season with a third place in Long Beach . At the second race in Monterrey he won and took the championship lead from his teammate Bourdais. Newman / Haas then took part in the Indianapolis 500 on May 29 with his two operational pilots in a Panoz Honda. In the second third of the race, Junqueira was in sixth position and was about to lap AJ Foyt IV , who was several laps behind. Before Turn 2 , Foyt suddenly pulled in, touching Junqueira in the back right. Junqueira lost control of his vehicle and spun into the wall. Junqueira lost consciousness in the accident and was hospitalized seriously injured. He had broken two vertebrae and had to undergo emergency surgery. Junqueira survived the accident without suffering paraplegia, but had to recover longer from the consequences of the accident. He fell out the entire season and was represented by Oriol Servià , who was runner-up behind Bourdais.
In December 2005 Junqueira tested again in a champ car for the first time and he kept his Newman / Haas cockpit for the 2006 season . While Bourdais won the Champ Car title for the third time with seven victories, three second places were Junqueira's best results. He finished the season in fifth place. At the end of the season, Junqueira and Newman / Haas Racing parted ways after four seasons.
Dale Coyne (2007-2008)
At the beginning of 2007 , Junqueira took part in three A1GP events for the Brazilian team . Seventh place was his best position. He then returned to the Champ Car World Series and was given a cockpit at Dale Coyne Racing as a teammate of Katherine Legge . As in previous years, the racing team was permanently underfunded. Nevertheless, Junqueira managed to achieve a top 10 placement 11 times in the 14 races. In the consecutive races in Zolder , Assen and Surfers Paradise, he achieved a second and two third places. In the championship he was seventh with 233 points and thus prevailed within the team against Legge, who was 15th overall with 108 points.
At the beginning of 2008 Junqueira took part in two A1GP racing weekends. Eighth place was his best result. In the 2008 season he joined Dale Coyne Racing in the IndyCar Series, as the Champ Car series had ceased racing and joined the IndyCar Series. His teammate was rookie Mario Moraes . With a sixth place as the best result, Junqueira finished the season in 20th place. He was one position ahead of Moraes.
Individual participation in various racing series (since 2009)
In 2009 Junqueira was without a permanent cockpit. For Conquest Racing he was given the opportunity to participate in the Indianapolis 500. In contrast to regular driver Alex Tagliani , he managed to qualify. The team then decided to withdraw Junqueira, who had not participated in training, from the race and leave the starting place to Tagliani.
In 2010 Junqueira got the opportunity to start for the FAZZT Race Team at the Indianapolis 500. As in the previous year, Tagliani was his teammate. Junqueira qualified, but retired from the race in 32nd place. In addition to formula racing, he gained experience in truck races in Formula Truck , a Brazilian racing series. He was seventeenth overall.
In 2011 , Junqueira was signed for the second IndyCar cockpit by AJ Foyt Enterprises for the Indianapolis 500. Junqueira managed to qualify in 19th place. As in 2009, however, he had to hand over the cockpit for the race to another driver this time. Andretti pilot Ryan Hunter-Reay failed in qualifying and received the Foyt car that Junqueira had qualified. In contrast to Junqueira, who came into the cockpit without sponsors, Andretti had several sponsors for Hunter Reays vehicles. In addition, Junqueira started in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) and finished 26th in the GT class. He also took part in two races of the Stock Car Brasil and the Brazilian Petrobras de Marcas Cup .
statistics
Career stations
|
|
Sebring results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 |
 Multimatic Motorsports Team Panoz
|
Panoz Esperante GT-LM |
Gunnar Jeannette
|
Tommy Milner
|
failure | Power transmission |
| 2011 |
Jaguar RSR
|
Jaguar XKR |
 Cristiano da Matta
|
 Oriol Servià
|
Rank 38 | |
| 2012 |
RSR Racing
|
Oreca FLM09 |
 Roberto González junior
|
Tomy Drissi
|
Rank 48 | |
| 2013 |
RSR Racing
|
Oreca FLM09 |
 Alex Popov
|
Duncan out
|
Rank 12 | |
| 2014 |
RSR Racing
|
Oreca FLM09 |
 David Heinemeier Hansson
|
Duncan out
|
Rank 11 | |
| 2015 |
RSR Racing
|
Oreca FLM09 |
 Chris Cumming
|
Gustavo Menezes
|
failure | malfunction |
Web links
- Official website of Bruno Junqueira (English)
- Career statistics from Bruno Junqueira at Speedsport-Magazine.de
- Career statistics from Bruno Junqueira at driverdb.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c "Ex-Williams test driver will succeed da Matta" (Motorsport-Total.com on November 7, 2002)
- ^ "BAR considers Williams-style shootout for 2004 drive" (grandprix.com on September 16, 2003)
- ↑ "Junqueira replaces Heidfeld" (rp-online.de on August 27, 2008)
- ↑ a b "Junqueira: Return to the Place of Suffering" (Motorsport-Total.com on May 15, 2008)
- ↑ Tagliani in, Junqueira out of Indy 500 ( Memento from February 1, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) (racer.com on May 17, 2009)
- ↑ “Foyt expands '500' lineup with Junqueira” ( Memento from August 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (indycar.com on April 4, 2011)
- ^ "Unlucky Junqueira out, Hunter-Reay in!" (Motorsport-Total.com on May 24, 2011)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Junqueira, Bruno |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Brazilian racing car driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th November 1976 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Belo Horizonte , Brazil |