Bachelart poised to buy back Mi-Jack stake.

The amicable divorce between erstwhile Champ Car partners Conquest Racing and Mi-Jack Products takes another step towards completion with confirmation that the long-time sponsor is preparing to sell its stake in the outfit to current partner Eric Bachelart.

Mi-Jack owner, the Lanigan family, started its association with former Indy Lights champion Bachelart in 1992, when it first sponsored him as a driver. The company then remained a sponsor for the following years and became co-owner of Bachelart's Conquest Racing team in 2002. That same year, the team, which was renamed Mi-Jack Conquest Racing, switched from the Indy Lights Series to the Indy Racing League, before rejoining the Champ Car fold the following season, growing to a two car team in 2004. However, for 2007, the co-owners mutually agreed that it was time to part ways.

"We have had numerous conversations over the winter and, in the final analysis, it was agreed to go our separate directions," Mi-Jack president Mike Lanigan confirmed, "Eric has been a superb partner over the past ten years and we salute him in the progress he has made in these challenging times in open-wheel racing. A friend and partner, he has proven himself numerous times by providing a competitive and professional race team in spite of the limited resources presented to him. I wish Eric and the whole Conquest Racing team the best of luck in the future and much success."

The departure of Mi-Jack left Conquest on the brink of closure until a new mystery backer rescued the team's 2007 ambitions. Bachelart now embarks on a fifth year of Champ Car competition, and has already confirmed that it will appear for a second year in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship.

"The Conquest Team has been in existence for ten years now and, for half of that decade, Mi-Jack Products has been a co-owner of the team and a sponsor before that - they were, and are, a huge part of the team," Bachelart admitted, "We mutually agreed to part ways, but it is still hard to see them go. Mike Lanigan has been a great partner and ally throughout the years."

Despite leaving Conquest Racing, Mi-Jack remains committed to the Champ Car World Series as a promoter and an announcement regarding its involvement in other areas of racing will be made in the near future.