Conquest's Lee and Ricci Gearing Up for a Portland Double Header source: conquestracing.com After four days of intense testing, the Conquest Racing Atlantic team is ready for competition The Conquest Racing Atlantic Series team is ready for a weekend at Portland International Raceway which will feature both the fourth and fifth round of the 2007 Champ Car Atlantic Championship. Giacomo Ricci (#18 Mazda-Cosworth/Swift/Cooper) and Matt Lee (#44 Mazda-Cosworth/Swift/Cooper) have been working hard to prepare for the weekend's two races. The 1.964-mile permanent road course is new for both drivers but with qualifying on Friday and their first race on Saturday, they will have a steep learning curve. The Conquest Racing Atlantic team was able to complete four days of testing for both Ricci and Lee during the schedule break in May and the entire team has been working very hard to be prepared for this weekend's two races. This testing included two days at Gingerman Raceway in South Haven, MI and two days at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC which gave the drivers the opportunity to make a good progression with the car and for Ricci to become more familiar with his new engineer, Tom Hoke. The Portland race also marks the first time that Ricci will be competing on an American road course. Previous street courses which the team competed on earlier in the season were a new experience for him and the team looks forward to his return to the more familiar road course. "After a few weeks off, I'm excited to be back for the fourth and fifth round of the Champ Car Atlantic Series," said Matt Lee. "I just had the opportunity to walk the track and it looks really interesting with some high speeds which I'm looking forward to. I can't wait for practice tomorrow morning and with the double header this weekend it is going to be interesting. I realize strategy will be important to help the team and I think we are ready for the race." "I'm happy to be back to racing for sure," began Giacomo Ricci. "I'm feeling very positive after the four days of testing we had during May. I think the double header here at Portland will bring a good weekend for myself and the Conquest team. I like the track, it looks really fast and I think that the team can get the car to the top." "The four days of testing were very good for us," said Steve Ragan, Conquest Racing Atlantic Team Manager. "It really gave the drivers more confidence, we were able to learn more about their racing style and they are more comfortable with the cars and their team. The Portland track is very fast and Lee, Ricci and the rest of the team are ready to take the cars to a strong finish."
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