Juncos Hollinger shining with Ilott and rookie Canapino

The team is starting only its second full season of IndyCar racing, and its first with two drivers. Ilott sparkled for the team on several occasions in qualifying in 2022, culminating in a front-row start at the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

In the first day of preseason testing at Thermal Club in California – a new venue for all competitors – he finished the day seventh fastest, less than three-tenths slower than Colton Herta’s benchmark time for Andretti Autosport.

“Starting off I was getting used to the circuit…Coming into the afternoon we had a couple items we needed to test and get through. It was good.

“I like this place. It's a big mix of slow speed, long corners, high speed. I think not very forgiving if you do go wrong. But no one has put it in the wall yet; that's a good sign.

“It was a bit of a discovery process for everyone. It's high speed. I think it's a great place to start to get us active.”

Ilott said that his strong performances in Portland and Laguna Seca last year weren’t down to him knowing the tracks from his initial forays into IndyCar in 2021, nor a sudden breakthrough in the team’s roadcourse setups.

“Obviously I know my way around Laguna,” he said. “It was one of those tracks that you always drove on Gran Turismo or something. I knew it on that side. Barber was the first place it kind of clicked. At the end of the season I think that's where we started to understand where we needed to start with the car and have a good baseline. It kind of reflected in those two.

“I would like to be able to do the same in St. Pete. I think the street circuit car has always been a bit more difficult, a couple things we struggle with. I don't know if we've solved them or not, so it will be interesting to see.”

He added that the season-opener in St. Petersburg “will be a tough one, but a good one to see where we're really at.”

Earlier in the week Ilott said that he sees himself as a good gauge for the team’s pace.

“My race craft has always been slightly weaker than the qualifying side of things… I think like in Laguna, I proved that if we have a car that's competitive, that's what I can do with it on the qualifying side. It's kind of up to the team to give me the car on the weekend. Of course I work as much as possible for it, but there's only so much a one-man show can do in a year.

“But I think the ovals, that's going to be a bit different; having a teammate to at least share some feelings on is going to be very helpful.”

By the end of the test day, Ilott admitted he’d been impressed by Canapino. Although the former Argentina touring car ace had a spin, he ended the day seven-tenths off his teammate, only one second from the top time, and ahead of names such as Graham Rahal and Helio Castroneves.

“Obviously it's not easy to jump in these things,” observed Ilott. “He did a good job by the end of the day.

“We're finding our way with the car. There were a couple things in the morning where I was really not happy with it. I know for me that that's not how the car should behave, whereas he might go to push it a bit more because he doesn't know on that side. I think that's what happened on one of the places [when Canapino caused a red flag with a spin and stall].

“In the afternoon I think they kind of followed the way we'd gone [in setup]. Yeah, I think he was alright. Look, you've always got to push it. A lot of others were making mistakes. I think he was 7/10ths off me by the end of the day. Not bad for the first day.”