Motegi: Conquest Racing preview

INDY JAPAN 300 PRE-RACE NEWS, NOTES AND QUOTES

First time
Conquest Racing will be taking part in its first race in Japan at Twin Ring Motegi this weekend. Despite the team itself never having gone to the 1.5-mile oval, many team members have, several times, and everyone is looking forward to the trip and the team's first participation.

Hometown Hero
Kosuke Matsuura, who hails from Aichi, Japan, is joining Conquest Racing for the Japanese round on the 2009 IndyCar Series schedule. While this will be Matsuura's first race with Conquest Racing it will be his fourth start at Twin Ring Motegi. His first came in 2004. He has a best start of fourth (2004) and best finish of 7th (2006) at the 1.5-mile oval.

Testing
With Matsuura being out of an Indy car for a while, Conquest Racing wanted to ensure that they could offer him the best preparation possible before taking part in the Indy Japan 300. Before packing things up for the flight overseas, the team packed things up and headed up to Chicagoland Speedway for a one-day test. The test was deemed a success by both the team and driver and both parties can't wait to return to the track in Japan.

#34 Kosuke Matsuura Click Securities/Conquest Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone
"I'm very excited to be racing again in the IndyCar Series and especially to be racing in front of my home fans. It's always special to race in your country and making a come back to the series in front of them means a lot to me. I'd like to thank Click Securities, Autobacs and Forex Trade for their support as well as Conquest Racing for giving me the opportunity to return behind the wheel. I'm looking forward to driving the Click Securities/Conquest Racing car again. We had a good test a couple of weeks ago and I'm anxious for the race weekend to get underway."

Eric Bachelart, Conquest Team Owner
"We had a good test with Kosuke at Chicagoland Speedway a couple of weeks ago. Even if the test was mostly to get him re-acclimated with the Dallara, we were very happy with his performance and we had a chance to test different aero pieces. We now look forward to having him race for us at his ‘home track' of Twin Ring Motegi. While I've raced in Japan many years ago, it will be nice to return to that country for Conquest's first participation in the Japanese round of the schedule. I'd also like to welcome on-board our partners for the weekend, Click Securities, Forex Trade and Autobacs."

-credit: cr