Indy 500: Conquest Racing day two report

Conquest Racing drivers complete Rookie Orientation

INDIANAPOLIS (May 16, 2010) - Conquest Racing first year IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Mario Romancini and Bertrand Baguette completed Rookie Orientation today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, allowing them to pursue their quest of taking part in their first Indianapolis 500.

Romancini and Baguette, two of seven rookies vying for a spot in the 2010 33-car field, had to complete 10 laps in each of the four different speed levels (200-205 mph, 205-210 mph, 210 215 mph and 215 mph and over) before being permitted to continue practice with the rest of the field.

After rain cancelled most of Saturday's practice time, Conquest Racing, the only team fielding a pair of rookies, took advantage of better weather on Sunday to complete a combined total of 174 trouble free laps around the famed 2.5-mile oval during the rookie practice part of the day.

With everything running smoothly throughout the day, the team completed another 50 laps in the open practice session that was added to the schedule due to a foreboding forecast before retreating to the garage for scheduled engine changes.

Both Conquest drivers were looking to learn as much as possible today, all while increasing their comfort level behind the wheel, which was accomplished by turning the most laps of all drivers on the day. Brazilian Romancini turned 117 laps aboard his #34 Conquest Racing Honda-Dallara while Belgian Baguette put in 107 laps in his #36 RACB National Team Conquest Racing car.

With Rookie orientation now complete, Baguette and Romancini will continue their preparation this week with practice sessions taking place Monday to Friday from noon to 6 p.m. ET, weather permitting.

Qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 takes place Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23, 2010 with the first 24 spots in play on Saturday and positions 25 thru 33 on Sunday, Bump Day.

Fans can follow the action live on VERSUS from noon to 6:30 p.m. ET on both Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23, 2010. The 2010 Indianapolis 500 goes green Sunday, May 30 at 1:11 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ABC starting at noon ET.

Conquest Racing Quote Board

Mario Romancini, #34 Conquest Racing
"It was a very good learning day for us. We were able to do a lot of laps and at the end of the session I was feeling a lot more comfortable in the car. In the beginning, I was getting used to the speed as we went through Rookie Orientation and by the end we were able to start taking out some downforce. We will use this next week to continue working on the setup of the car and getting more speed."

Bertrand Baguette, #36 RACB National Team
"It was a good day for us. We began with Rookie Orientation, increasing our speed step-by-step, and towards the end of the session, we were able to start making more changes and improving the car's setup. Every change that we made on the car gave us more speed, which shows that we are moving in the right direction. I look forward to this next week of practice to continue improving the car even more."

-source: cr