The Columbian was once part of the Junior programme at Formula 1 team Lotus. He arrived in the Prototype Cup Germany via GT3 racing. The South American has been based in Germany since 2017.
Rinaldi Racing and its two drivers Oscar Tunjo and Mateo Villagomez only joined the action in the Prototype Cup Germany at the second race weekend, but the two South Americans promptly finished in the top three in their Duqueine. Ecuadorian Villagomez is 20 years old, his team-mate Tunjo comes from Columbia and is six years his elder. Although new to the LMP3 scene, he has already gained plenty of experience in Formula and GT3 racing.
Tunjo started out on the classic route into motorsport – on the karting scene. In 2010, he switched to Formula BMW Pacific, where he ended the season in second place. Back then, he came up against Axcil Jefferies, who nowadays is to be found at the wheel of a Ginetta for Konrad Motorsport in the Prototype Cup Germany. In 2011, Tunjo moved to Europe to compete in various Formula Renault championships. On the back of some good results, he was accepted into the Junior squad at Formula 1 team Lotus. Among the other drivers receiving support from Lotus was Esteban Ocon, now a Formula 1 driver. After three years in Formula Renault, he was ready to step up to the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. However, the planned move never took place. “I was going to drive for Signature, who wanted to run a new Renault engine on their Formula 3 comeback after two years away. However, even during the pre-season tests it was clear that the engine was not competitive – we were 18 km/h slower than the opposition on the short straight at the Hungaroring,” recalls the Columbian, who pulled the rip cord and bailed out before the start of the 2014 season. However, he did not have a lot of choice back then. “At the time, I was being supported by Renault Columbia, so I started in Formula Renault 3.5.” This was followed in outings in GP3, before he had to leave Formula racing at the end of 2016. “I did have a few sponsors back then, but they were each only able to support me with a relatively small amount. As such, it became increasingly difficult for me to find the necessary budget.”
However, his exit from Formula racing did not mean the end of his motor racing ambitions. “José Balbiani, a friend from Argentina, invited me to race in the Special Touring Car Trophy in Germany. That was the first time I had driven a GT3 racer, and I won the STT at the first attempt,” says Tunjo, who is particularly grateful to Alfredo Sesana. “He supported me financially and saved my career.” Other appearances on the GT3 scene included in the ADAC GT Masters, Sprint and Endurance races in the GT World Challenge Europe, and the ELMS. He was particularly successful in the Sprint variant of the GT World Challenge Europe. “I was fast from the word go in a GT3 car, but first had to learn to be more patient and how to handle the heavier car,” he says, describing his biggest difficulties when switching to GT3 cars.
His current team principal, Michele Rinaldi, remembered that Tunjo had grown up in Formula racing when he invited the Columbian to a test in his LMP3 car. And the racing driver was immediately won over. “The prototypes are better suited to my driving style than the GT3 cars, as I like a lot of downforce, to brake late, and to attack in the corners. To be honest, my Formula experience helped me a lot to adapt.” And there is another reason why he is a fan of LMP3: “I believe that a good driver can make a bigger difference in a prototype than in a GT3 car.”
Looking to the future, he is now targeting an involvement in LMP, having completed parallel programmes in LMP3 and GT3 this year. “I would really like to stay in the Prototype Cup Germany next season, as I think the standard is very high compared to other LMP3 series. The combination with the ADAC GT Masters on one race weekend is also great. I see a lot of potential and believe that the Prototype Cup Germany will develop very positively, very soon,” says Tunjo, who has lived in Adenau since 2017 and feels right at home in Germany.
