Conquest Racing Sonoma Race Report

It was a race of strategy and little passing today at the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County. Conquest Racing was counting on a different race strategy to improve positions, but so were most of the other teams which left the Conquest drivers Enrique Bernoldi and Jaime Camara respectively 21st and 24th when the checkered flag flew.

It was a long race for rookie Bernoldi who had to endure injured ligaments in his left hand, suffered in a spin yesterday in qualifying, but the Brazilian didn’t let it get to him. Hoping that his team’s strategy would help him gain some positions in the long run – because passing is a difficult task at Infineon Raceway – Bernoldi was the first driver to stop for fuel early on in the race.

Unfortunately for the #36 crew, other drivers started pitting soon thereafter meaning they wouldn’t be alone on the same strategy. After being stuck behind some cars and despite the pain coming and going in his hand, the Brazilian, who was taking part in his 14th IndyCar Series race, continued to push throughout the 80-lap event and wound up 21st.

Camara’s crew also chose to employ a different race strategy with the hopes of moving up through the field. But like his teammate, it didn’t go the way they would have liked in the uneventful race. The Brazilian rookie ended up taking the checkered flag in 24th place in his 12th IndyCar Series start, and continued to gain experience and accumulate mileage behind the wheel of the Sangari Conquest car.

There is no rest for Conquest Racing this week as the team heads to Detroit from August 29 thru the 31 for Round 16 on the IndyCar Series 2008 Schedule for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix. The race will be broadcast live on ABC starting at 3:30 p.m. eastern time.

"(About racing with his injured hand) My hand was hurting a lot during the race it started maybe after 10 laps. The pain was coming and going. To steer left was really difficult but I just had to go, to push. We had a different strategy but so did a lot of other people. Then I got stuck behind a car and as soon as he pitted I started to go one second faster but it was too late. It was good to gain experience and mileage but it would have been nice to get a better result."

"It was a tough race but it was good to put in laps and gain experience. I did my best, it was just so difficult to pass out there. We tried to do a different strategy but so did everyone else."

"Enrique injured himself yesterday in qualifying and we had to make some changes to the car to make it easier for him to drive with the injury, unfortunately it hurt the performance of the car but at least it allowed him to be able to make it to the finish. As for the race, in general not much happened, we tried a different strategy on both cars but in the end there wasn’t much we could do with other teams doing the same thing.

I’m happy with Jaime’s performance and the progress he has made since the start of the season, he has improved a lot since racing on his first road course and he turned some good laps today. I’m also glad that both cars finished the race without any problems. We have to keep on improving our cars' performance and now look ahead to Detroit next weekend."

- Conquest Racing PR/Karina Redmond -