Conquest ready to fight for victory at Lime Rock

#37 Conquest Endurance Morgan: Martin Plowman, David Heinemeier Hansson, Antonio Pizzonia

Photo by: James M. Holland

Lakeville, Connecticut – July 4, 2012 – After a long break in the 2012 schedule Conquest Endurance and the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will return to the track this weekend for the American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park. David Heinemeier Hansson and Martin Plowman will be back in the cockpit of their #37 Morgan-Nissan machine looking for their first victory of the year after two runner-up finishes in a row in the last two events of the season.

Despite a break in the ALMS schedule, the Conquest team and drivers had a busy couple of months competing in two of the biggest races in the world, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Conquest Racing fielded a car for Ana Beatriz at the 2012 Indy 500 in what would mark the first IndyCar start for the Conquest squad this year. The Brazilian driver was the quickest non-full time qualifier on the grid and lined up 13th for the start of the 500-mile race. Despite some problems during the race Beatriz and the #25 Ipiranga Andretti/Conquest Racing entry had a respectable 23rd place finish. Although he wasn’t behind the wheel, Plowman was an integral part of the team during the 500 where he served as Beatriz’s spotter during practice and the race.

For Heinemeier Hansson the break was a chance to go overseas and compete in the most important endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The rookie familiarized himself immediately with the complicated 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe and continued to impress with his performances after helping the Oak Racing team propel their car to the lead of the 24-hour race. After fighting for the top spots for many hours, mechanical problems forced their Morgan-Nissan machine to come into the garage for repairs costing them valuable time. Despite the setbacks, their quick pace kept Heinemeier Hansson and the Oak Racing squad in contention and eventually they finished the race seventh in the LM P2 class.

The Conquest Endurance team comes into Lime Rock Park second in the P2 championship and only 15 points shy of the leaders. The last two events of the season has seen them fighting neck to neck for wins in the team’s first ever season of endurance racing.

David Heinemeier Hansson Driver #37 Conquest Endurance / Morgan / Nissan Dunlop
“I'm really excited to get back in the Conquest car to contend for wins in ALMS. Doing Le Mans was a great experience and a boost of confidence. I had the honor of leading the LM P2 class for a few laps, turn lap times around the long circuit less than a second from my professional co-drivers, and be part of a team that finished the 24 hours. That's an incredible feeling!

I hope to translate all of that to a good showing at Lime Rock. I was there last year in the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge and finished 3rd in the platinum class. I can't wait to get back to slicing and dicing the traffic. That's really what I enjoy the most about ALMS. The run up from the back of the field to the front at Laguna Seca was one of the most enjoyable runs I've had in any car, any where.”

Martin Plowman Driver #37 Conquest Endurance / Morgan / Nissan Dunlop
“This will be my first time at Lime Rock, although I have seen it on iRacing before. I'm anxious to get back out there on track. The summer break was very long for me, although I kept myself very busy with some jobs outside of the cockpit, most notably as a spotter in the IZOD Indycar Series at the Indy 500 for Ana Beatriz and at Texas for Marco Andretti. It was fun to experience an important role outside of the car, but it made me even more eager to get back to business in the ALMS. My team has been able to work on some things that needed improving and I'm confident that we should see a step up in our overall performance as team on track and throughout the organization. Fighting for the championship has got to be our goal this year and to do that we recognize we need to win races. Level 5 will be very tough to beat, but we are coming very determined at Lime Rock.”

Eric Bachelart Team Principal
“It will be great to get back into the swing of things and get the summer stretch of the season started. As a team we’ve had a successful break, first making our season debut in the IndyCar series and the Indy 500 with Ana Beatriz, and then being able to go to Le Mans to support David and Oak Racing, we’ve kept pretty busy.

The last two races in the ALMS have been strong for us, we’ve shown that we have the pace to fight for wins and the team has done a great job adapting to the endurance racing world. We are looking forward to continuing improving and giving strong results for the rest of the season.”

Source: Conquest Endurance