Conquest Racing Bio
Conquest Racing is an auto racing team founded in 1997 and based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The team is owned and led by Éric Bachelart and has competed across open-wheel and sports car championships, including Indy Lights, the IndyCar Series, the Champ Car World Series, the American Le Mans Series, IMSA competition, and the Ferrari Challenge North America.
Early Life and Background
Conquest Racing was established in 1997 and began as a development operation that moved through junior open-wheel ranks before stepping into top-level series. The team operated from Indianapolis and used that base to field cars in American open-wheel categories while building relationships with sponsors and drivers from North America and Europe.
Éric Bachelart, a former competitor, became the team owner and principal; his leadership shaped Conquest Racing’s strategy of combining driver development with selective series entries. The team’s early years included campaigns in Indy Lights where it began attracting drivers who later progressed to higher categories.
Path to MotorSports
Conquest Racing progressed from junior open-wheel competition to national series by running in Indy Lights in the late 1990s and then stepping up to the Indy Racing League in 2002. The team leveraged early results and partnerships to enter the Champ Car World Series in 2003 and expanded its presence in multiple open-wheel ladders during the mid-2000s.
Through the 2000s Conquest Racing alternated between Atlantic Championship entries and Champ Car campaigns while signing a mix of experienced drivers and teenage prospects. The organization also explored sponsorship models and technical partnerships that allowed it to sustain entries across changing economic conditions in motorsport.
Conquest Racing Career
Early Career (1997–2002)
Conquest Racing began competing in junior open-wheel categories and ran in Indy Lights in the late 1990s, fielding drivers such as Felipe Giaffone. The team’s development focus in this period established its profile and created the platform to advance into top-level American open-wheel racing.
By 2002 Conquest Racing entered the Indy Racing League with Laurent Rédon, who earned rookie honors during that season. That entry marked the team’s first full-season program at the highest level of American open-wheel competition at the time.
Champ Car and Atlantic Breakthrough (2003–2007)
Conquest Racing moved into the Champ Car World Series in 2003 and over the following seasons fielded multiple drivers and chassis types while expanding to two cars in 2004. Justin Wilson was among the drivers the team ran in 2004, and Conquest worked alongside other teams to share technical information during that era.
In subsequent seasons Conquest signed a mixture of young talents and established racers, including Nelson Philippe, Andrew Ranger, Charles Zwolsman, and teenage drivers in the Atlantic Championship such as Graham Rahal and Al Unser III in 2006. Jan Heylen recorded a notable second-place finish at the Bavaria Grand Prix of Holland while driving for Conquest in 2007, representing a high point during the team’s Champ Car campaigns.
IndyCar Years (2008–2011)
Following the unification of American open-wheel series, Conquest Racing confirmed participation in the IndyCar Series, naming Franck Perera and Enrique Bernoldi as drivers for 2008. The team navigated sponsorship upheavals that year, including the collapse of a marketing partner before the season opener, and shifted partners as entries continued.
Conquest persisted in IndyCar through the late 2000s with part-time and full-season entries: Alex Tagliani competed in selected events in 2009 and led much of the Toronto Grand Prix before a late-race incident, and Bruno Junqueira drove a second entry at the 2009 Indianapolis 500 and qualified for the race. Mario Romancini and Bertrand Baguette ran for the team in 2010, and Sebastián Saavedra carried the single-car entry in 2011.
Sports Car Transition and ALMS Victory (2012)
Conquest Racing left the IndyCar Series after the 2011 season and transitioned to sports car competition, entering the American Le Mans Series in 2012 with a Morgan-Nissan LMP2 prototype. The move to prototype racing represented a strategic shift toward endurance and sports car programs.
The team captured its first confirmed sports car victory at the 2012 Grand Prix of Mosport, a key milestone in Conquest Racing’s history and its most prominent win in prototype competition. That result validated the team’s adaptation to LMP2 machinery and endurance racing formats.
Return to Prototype and IMSA Program (2019–Present)
After reduced activity following the 2013 season, Conquest Racing returned to active competition in the IMSA Prototype Challenge for the 2019 season, campaigning an LMP3 entry. The comeback emphasized the team’s continued interest in prototype categories and in nurturing drivers in sports car ladders.
As of the most recent public records, Conquest Racing competes in the Ferrari Challenge North America and fields entries in the GTD Pro and GTD classes of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Those programs reflect the organization’s shift toward GT and endurance racing in North American sportscar series.
Driving Style and Strengths
Conquest Racing has demonstrated adaptability across open-wheel and sports car disciplines, building a reputation for driver development and for managing diverse technical programs. The team’s strengths include its experience in prototype and GT machinery, the ability to integrate younger talents with experienced drivers, and leadership continuity under Éric Bachelart.
Notable Events and Milestones
Key milestones include the team’s rookie season in the Indy Racing League with Laurent Rédon, the expansion to two-car Champ Car efforts in the mid-2000s, Jan Heylen’s podium at the 2007 Bavaria Grand Prix of Holland, leading laps at the 2009 Toronto Grand Prix with Alex Tagliani, and the 2012 Grand Prix of Mosport victory in the American Le Mans Series. The organization also fielded entries in the Indianapolis 500 during its open-wheel era.
Conquest Racing Career Wins
Conquest Racing’s verified major victory in top-level sports car competition is the 2012 Grand Prix of Mosport in the American Le Mans Series. The team also produced notable podiums and race-leading performances in open-wheel events across its Champ Car and IndyCar campaigns, and it has collected class-level successes in regional and series-specific GT competition where publicly recorded.
American Le Mans Series Highlights
The team’s first confirmed prototype victory came at the 2012 Grand Prix of Mosport while campaigning a Morgan-Nissan LMP2 car, a defining result for Conquest Racing’s short but successful ALMS program. That win remains the clearest single-race triumph documented in the team’s sports car tenure.
Other Wins & Perfromances
Beyond the Mosport victory, Conquest Racing logged strong performances in open-wheel competition, including podium finishes and race leads during Champ Car and IndyCar events. The team’s drivers frequently produced standout single-race results that underscored its capacity to compete against larger and better-funded operations.
Conquest Racing Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Conquest Racing is led by Éric Bachelart, who brought experience as a competitor to his roles as owner, president, and general manager. Bachelart’s leadership provided continuity through the team’s transitions from junior open-wheel series to Champ Car, IndyCar, and later to sports car competition.
Personal Life
The team operates from Indianapolis, Indiana, and maintains public social media channels and a website for fan engagement and sponsor announcements. Conquest Racing’s public profile centers on its racing programs and driver lineups rather than on private or personal matters not disclosed by the organization.
2025 Season Performance
For 2025 Conquest Racing’s publicly stated programs include competition in the Ferrari Challenge North America and participation in the GTD Pro and GTD classes of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The team’s immediate objectives are to build on its sports car experience, support driver development within GT categories, and pursue competitive results in IMSA and one-make Ferrari competition.
Conquest Racing’s 2025 outlook emphasizes continuity under Éric Bachelart and the consolidation of GT entries following its prototype and ALMS history, with aims to leverage past race wins and podium performances into consistent championship-level showings in North American sports car racing.