Conquest Racing Team Owner Éric Bachelart is no stranger to success, with a long history of competing across a wide array of motorsports series over the years. The team has a strong presence in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Ferrari Challenge North America, largely due to Bachelart’s extensive experience and knowledge.

With so many things on the go at all times, we spoke with the man in charge to find out more about how he has streamlined the way the team operates.

Conquest Racing has had great success with the Ferrari brand in recent years. What do you think has been the key to achieving such strong performances with this iconic marque?

We’re very much involved with the Ferrari Challenge and we’ve been very fortunate that we have been developing a very good group of drivers in this championship. Obviously, stepping up to GT3 is the next step following this, and this series is a great way to get drivers ready for that. Manny Franco is a prime example of this, and for the upcoming year, we have other drivers who are going to move up to GT3 racing with us in different series. 

Everything starts from the foundation we establish in Ferrari Challenge and the great relationships we have with the dealerships. Ferrari is an iconic brand and it is very appealing to many drivers because the product is fantastic and we’re so happy to be a part of it. 

Looking back at your time as a driver in IndyCar, how did your experience in the cockpit shape the way you now manage Conquest Racing from the pit wall?

Being a professional driver has been helping me a lot as a team owner. I understand quite well what it takes as a driver to do this and be able to perform. In Ferrari Challenge we have many gentleman drivers, and I can have good conversations with them and give them advice with my own input. 

The same thing even applies in GT3 at the more professional level. Having past experience helps. I still get in the cars from time to time so I can get a feeling of how the cars are handling. Beyond that, there’s also the psychological aspect and mindset that the drivers need to adopt, and I’m able to understand their headspace. 

This is the team’s first year in the IMSA GTD class, and now with nearly a full season completed, what are your impressions regarding the level of competition?

The level of the competition is obviously very high, and as we approach the end of the year, the intensity has only increased. We have to push ourselves all the time. We do this in order to be competitive, we’re an ambitious team and the drivers are putting in a great deal of effort. 

When you look at the amount of cars, there are 22 cars in the GTD category, and 56 in total on the track. It’s incredible. We love the level of competition, that’s why we’re here. How do you balance all the elements and moving parts between competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship as well as Ferrari Challenge North America? 

We’re busy on both sides, and we have developed the organization in a way to ensure we can handle the demand. We have an excellent Team Manager on the Ferrari Challenge side that is taking care of everything we do there, and then we have the equivalent role on the IMSA side.

We operate totally independently in both series, so we’re able to go to different places when the schedules have us competing in both championships at the same time. It took a bit of time to get to that level of operation. We’re now able to rely on very good people. Everything has been running smoothly, and I’m sincerely quite proud of the team that we have put together. We have a true family spirit, and we’re working cohesively. I’m very pleased with what we have going on.