Conquest and Forsythe join forces

Conquest will receive technical and engineering help from Forsythe Performance Research, which is a subsidiary of Forsythe Racing, throughout the 2008 season. The announcement comes just two weeks after the Forsythe team abandoned their plan to join the IRL this season and closed down.

Conquest boss Eric Bachelart hopes the expertise at Forsythe will help his team to get on the pace in the IndyCar Series as quickly as possible.

"We're working very hard on our transition from Champ Car," he said. "We're excited about this partnership with Forsythe because their knowledge and experience will accelerate our efforts to become a front running team in the IndyCar Series."

Forsythe's Neil Micklewright added: "We're very pleased to be able to enter into this mutually beneficial arrangement. With the extensive racing background of Forsythe and the fine team Conquest have created, we feel assured that 2008 will be exciting. We look forward to helping Conquest unleash their potential."

Frenchman Franck Perera has already signed up to drive one of the cars and the team hope to announce a second driver shortly. Veteran Champ Car racer Paul Tracy is likely to be a contender for the seat, having held a long-term contract with Forsythe and been expected to move into the IRL with them before they shut down.

Conquest will have their first IndyCar test of the season at Sebring next week before the season kicks off at Homestead on March 29.