With three top-ten finishes under his belt, including most recent 6th place finish at Road America, Jan Heylen (#34 Grafiprint / Cosworth / DP01 / Bridgestone) and the rest of the Conquest Racing team is prepared to attack the Circuit of Zolder. source: conquestracing.com Jan has had a string of strong race showings beginning with his initial finish of the 2007 season in Edmonton and has be consistently improving his positions ever since. The Circuit of Zolder poses challenges that are different from any other track that the Champ Car World Series will visit this season. The smooth racing surface will offer drivers a break from the rough and harsh street course tracks that are prevalent at many events throughout the racing calendar. Zolder offers a mix of fast corners which are similar to the other North American road courses that Conquest Racing has already visited, as well as slower 'street course' style corners and chicanes that are very tight, forcing the drivers to change down several gears and brake hard. The average speed of most of the straights at the Circuit of Zolder will be around 160-mph which is typical of most of the courses on the Champ Car World Series schedule. With only one car running in which to gather data at the new venue Conquest engineers, headed by Don Bricker, will be challenged to find an appropriate set up for the car. Jan and the rest of the Conquest Team will be looking to make the most of the on track time before the race on Sunday. With the success that they have had found at recent events, the team feels confident that the team will be competitive within the rest of the field. "Now that we have had a string of top-ten finishes, I'm definitely feeling more confident with the new DP01 car," said Heylen. "Our most recent sixth place finish at Road America has given us another boost of momentum toward race goals. I'm excited to be racing in front of a hometown crowd and I know the entire Conquest team is prepared to fight for a strong finish." The race in Zolder signals a homecoming not only for the Geel, Belgium native Jan Heylen but also for Conquest Racing Team Owner and former driver, Eric Bachelart. Both Heylen and Bachelart have had success at the 2.622-mile circuit at some point in their racing careers and are excited to have the opportunity to return to the local track. In 2005, Jan won the 24Hours of Zolder event with an SRT-Corvette while twenty years earlier; Bachelart won an F3 race and many other Touring Car races at the same circuit. With this special connection for both Jan and Eric along with all of the Belgian fans supporting their hometown favorite, Conquest Racing feels ready to continue their drive forward and race to a great finish at the inaugural Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium. "Zolder is definitely a very special place for me as this is where I did my first laps in a race car, where I started my first race and even where I had my first win," said Eric Bachelart, Conquest Racing Team Owner. "It's a great feeling to go back there where everything started for me 25 years ago, now with a Belgian-American team based in Indianapolis, running a Belgian driver, and supported by Belgian initiatives."
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