The following is a series of stats, notes and quotes from Conquest Racing for this weekend’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer.
Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer
Iowa Speedway, 7/8-mile oval (.875)
June 21 – June 22, 2008, Race #8
Race Distance: 250 laps (218.75 miles)
Broadcast: ABC, 1:00 pm ET
CONQUEST IOWA SPEEDWAY STATS
Races at Iowa Speedway : 0
Best IndyCar Series Finish: -
Best IndyCar Series Start: -
IOWA PRE-RACE NOTES
Pleasure to Meet You
Conquest Racing will be making their first appearance at Iowa Speedway this weekend. The same goes for rookie Enrique Bernoldi. As for rookie teammate Camara, he competed at the short track in Firestone Indy Lights last season posting a fifth place on the starting grid.
Growing on Positive Outcomes
Despite unsatisfactory results on paper in Texas two weekends ago, the Conquest Team took many positives from the race with them as they returned to their home base of Indianapolis to prepare for Round 8 on the IndyCar Series schedule. In Texas, Jaime Camara got his confidence back and ran a strong race and put in competitive lap times after encountering gearbox problems.
As for Enrique Bernoldi, the Brazilian was fast and aggressive and ran as high as 11th at one point before his late race crash. The on-track performance of the drivers keeps on getting stronger and stronger as each race goes by and as the team continues to gain experience and learn. The team will now try to convert those strong performances into strong finishes at Iowa.
Catch Your Breath, Then Start Over Again
The Conquest Racing Team finally enjoyed a few well-deserved days off before this weekend’s IndyCar Series race in Iowa. It was the first time since the announcement of unification that the ‘transitional’ team members enjoyed a full weekend of family time. Bernoldi and Camara also enjoyed some family time in their adoptive hometown of Miami during their time off.
With the short time the Conquest squad had to catch its breath, the team worked, amongst other things, on fixing the damaged car from Texas and getting organized the best it could with spares for the upcoming races. The crew and drivers now embark on a six-consecutive-weekend swing that will end in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada July 26.
Best of Conquest 2008
Conquest scored its best oval starting position of the season with Enrique Bernoldi with an eighth spot on the grid in Milwaukee and achieved its best combined effort when they placed both drivers in the top six in Long Beach in April at the Champ Car World Series finale. The team also completed their first Indianapolis 500 this year when Bernoldi took the checkered flag on the lead lap in 15th place. It was the Brazilian’s first oval finish of the season.
QUOTEBOARD
#34 Jaime Camara Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
IndyCar Series Starts: 4
Best 2008 Start: 19th (Kansas City)
Best 2008 Finish: 21st (Kansas City)
"Rookie of the Year" Standings: 11th
Point Standings: 29th (46 points)
"Obviously our thoughts are with all the victims of the flooding in Iowa as we head there this week. We wish them plenty of strength and courage as they go through this difficult time. (About this weekend’s race) I really enjoyed driving at Iowa Speedway last season in Indy Lights.
It’s a really fun track but I think it will be a tough race. It will be interesting to see so many cars on such a short oval track. It should be a good show with a lot of passing.
Once again I want to give the team that much-deserved good result, it’s coming! We were running well in the last few races we just have to have a clean race until the end."
#36 Enrique Bernoldi Sangari Dallara/Honda/Firestone
IndyCar Series Starts: 6
Best 2008 Start: 8th (Long Beach, Milwaukee)
Best 2008 Finish: 4th (Long Beach)
"Rookie of the Year" Standings: 5th
Point Standings: 17th (125 points)
"I’ve heard good things about Iowa Speedway and I can’t wait to find out for myself just how much fun it is to race there. It will be the shortest track I have driven on so far so this will be another learning experience. As usual learning the track and getting up to speed quickly will be key.
We have been running well in the last few races, we now have to turn that into a good result at the finish. I also want to wish the people of Iowa who have been touched by the flooding well, our thoughts are with them."
Eric Bachelart, owner Conquest Racing:
"We’re looking to Iowa to turn things around for us. We’ve been running strong in the last races but for one reason or another we have been unable to see that performance in the final results. Jaime and Enrique have been steadily improving and getting stronger.
The team has also gained lots of experience as we continue on our learning curve. The next weeks will be difficult for all with six consecutive race weekends, but we’re prepared to get through it.
When you take a step back and look at it, this is nothing compared to what the people of Iowa and Indiana have to go through with the flooding that hit the different regions. It definitely gives us a different perspective on things!"
CONQUEST RACING AT A GLANCE
2008 SEASON
IndyCar Series Races: 6
Best Start: 8th (Milwaukee, - Enrique Bernoldi)
Best Finish: 5th (St. Petersburg, - Enrique Bernoldi)
Champ Car Races: 1 (Long Beach)
Best Start: 3rd (Franck Perera)
Best Finish: 4th (Enrique Bernoldi)
IndyCar Series Overall
IndyCar Series Races: 23
Best Start: 4th (Dallas, Richmond, Kansas City, 2002 – Laurent Redon)
Best Finish: 2nd (Fontana, 2002, – Laurent Redon)
-Karina Redmond-
