Former Champ Car team owner Eric Bachelart became the firs CCWS outfit to officially make the switch to the IRL by announcing he’ll field a two car operation in 2008.
Bachelart, who last contested the IRL in 2002 will return with just signed Atlantic standout Frank Perera, with the team’s second driver to be named shortly. It’s nice to see that Bachelart’s fortunes have swung around, since last year he was on the verge of shutting down upon long time partner Mike Lanagin leaving the team in order to join the Newman/Haas juggernaut as a co-owner. This led to Conquest employing three paying drivers to soldier thru the season before striking a new partnership arrangement with Opes Prime Ltd, an Australian based outfit which purchased a minority stake in Conquest in order to return to a two car operation for this year, albeit in CCWS.
So, I’m wondering if this means that Nelson Philippe who landed the team Juniper Soull backing just prior to last year’s event on the Gold Coast will be Perera’s partner? Philippe, the transplanted Frenchman has taken residency Down Under and Juniper Soul is a very sheik beachfront community on Surfer Paradise’s coast…
