Conquest forms Forsythe alliance.

Conquest Racing took another step towards its goal of becoming a contender in the new IndyCar Series by announcing that it had signed a technical partnership with Forsythe Performance Research, a subsidiary of Forsythe Racing Inc.

Although Forsythe has stated that it has no interest in running a team in the newly amalgamated series, leaving veteran Paul Tracy on the sidelines, the new alliance should help provide Conquest with technical and engineering resources for the 2008 season.

"We are working very hard on our transition from Champ Car to the IndyCar Series, and we are excited about this partnership with Forsythe Performance Research," said team owner Eric Bachelart, "Their knowledge and experience will accelerate our efforts to become a front-running team in the IndyCar Series."

Conquest Racing will enter its second full season of competition in the Indy Racing League, and can already claim a podium finish in the Series with a third place by Laurent Redon in 2002 at Fontana. However, since then, it has been a regular in the Champ Car World Series until news of the merger between the USA's two open-wheel competitions was confirmed two weeks ago.

Bachelart's team now looks to add to its past success with rookie Franck Perera, who topped the charts in the final Champ Car test at Sebring on only his second outing in the DP01 car. A second driver will be announced shortly.

"Forsythe Performance Research is very pleased to be able to enter into a mutually-beneficial technical support arrangement with Conquest Racing in 2008," confirmed the company's Neil Micklewright, "With the extensive racing background of Forsythe Racing and the fine team that Conquest has created, we feel assured that 2008 will be an exciting and challenging year for all concerned. We look forward to helping Conquest Racing unleash all of its potential."

Conquest will make its return to the IndyCar Series with a first run of the obligatory Dallara-Honda combination on the road course in Sebring next week. The session will be the first of two pre-season tests for those teams moving over from Champ Car to the IndyCar Series.