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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: Conquest Getting Up To Speed In P2
Martin Plowman, David Heinemeier Hansson turn first laps in new Morgan-Judd, set realistic goals for Sebring debut...
After numerous seasons in IndyCar, Conquest makes its ALMS debut this week at Sebring. (Photo: John Dagys)
While Dyson Racing unleashed its new Lola-Mazda Saturday, another team was quietly getting up to speed around Sebring International Raceway, but with a much steeper learning curve than the defending American Le Mans Series P1 champions.
With a new car, new drivers and a new series to adapt to, you could say Conquest Endurance has been thrown into the deep end with its new P2 class program. But after four hours of running yesterday, the Eric Bachelart-led team made some considerable progress in the rollout of its new Morgan-Judd.
Both Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier Hansson turned laps aboard the French prototype, an evolution of last year’s OAK-Pescarolo they’ll share with Francesco Dracone in Saturday’s ALMS season-opening 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
For 24-year-old Plowman, who starred in his IndyCar debut last year with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, the move to sports cars wasn’t initially on his radar screen until a series of events unfolded last month.
“When Eric approached me about joining him in this venture, I never thought about sports car racing until he asked me,” Plowman told SPEED.com. “That very night, Patrick Long, a friend of mine from go-karts, called me and said, 'I heard there's an opportunity to race with Eric. I have a friend of mine, David [Heinemeier Hansson], who's going to join him.' I was like, 'This is too much of a coincidence to pass up.’
“IndyCar is in a very tricky situation right now and you have to bring a lot of sponsorship just to get in a car. So I had a choice of sitting at home, watching the racing on [TV] or doing this. I rather go racing. And once I got into the car for the first time, I realized it's a lot of fun.”
Plowman wasted little time getting the Judd-powered prototype up to speed, with the Brit lapping in the 1:56 range by the end of the day. While there were some minor teething issues, including some electrical gremlins, both drivers were encouraged with the progress made on the team’s first day with the new car.
“We have a fair ways to go but that's to be completely expected,” Hansson said. “I drove a grand total of 20 laps in a P2 car and the other guys here are new to P2 as well. The team is new to the car and everything. It would be very weird if we were setting fastest laps on the first day we were out.”
After drives in IMSA GT3 Challenge and the end-of-season Intercontinental Le Mans Cup rounds in a Jetalliance Lotus Evora, the renowned Danish programmer is taking a serious approach to his new challenge in P2.
For co-driver Plowman, the objective is the same, as the duo embark on a full season of ALMS competition in a class that saw Level 5 Motorsports race uncontested last year.
“You race to win of course but we also have to be realistic that it's our first day on track with the car,” Plowman said. “If we've [worked out] every little problem, you would think we'd have a good chance of winning if a few guys run into trouble.
“We just need to have a very clean race and see where we end up. Pace wise, I think we'll get there. It's a long season and our goal is to get mileage and finish the race.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
With a new car, new drivers and a new series to adapt to, you could say Conquest Endurance has been thrown into the deep end with its new P2 class program. But after four hours of running yesterday, the Eric Bachelart-led team made some considerable progress in the rollout of its new Morgan-Judd.
Both Martin Plowman and David Heinemeier Hansson turned laps aboard the French prototype, an evolution of last year’s OAK-Pescarolo they’ll share with Francesco Dracone in Saturday’s ALMS season-opening 60th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring.
For 24-year-old Plowman, who starred in his IndyCar debut last year with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, the move to sports cars wasn’t initially on his radar screen until a series of events unfolded last month.
“When Eric approached me about joining him in this venture, I never thought about sports car racing until he asked me,” Plowman told SPEED.com. “That very night, Patrick Long, a friend of mine from go-karts, called me and said, 'I heard there's an opportunity to race with Eric. I have a friend of mine, David [Heinemeier Hansson], who's going to join him.' I was like, 'This is too much of a coincidence to pass up.’
“IndyCar is in a very tricky situation right now and you have to bring a lot of sponsorship just to get in a car. So I had a choice of sitting at home, watching the racing on [TV] or doing this. I rather go racing. And once I got into the car for the first time, I realized it's a lot of fun.”
Plowman wasted little time getting the Judd-powered prototype up to speed, with the Brit lapping in the 1:56 range by the end of the day. While there were some minor teething issues, including some electrical gremlins, both drivers were encouraged with the progress made on the team’s first day with the new car.
“We have a fair ways to go but that's to be completely expected,” Hansson said. “I drove a grand total of 20 laps in a P2 car and the other guys here are new to P2 as well. The team is new to the car and everything. It would be very weird if we were setting fastest laps on the first day we were out.”
After drives in IMSA GT3 Challenge and the end-of-season Intercontinental Le Mans Cup rounds in a Jetalliance Lotus Evora, the renowned Danish programmer is taking a serious approach to his new challenge in P2.
For co-driver Plowman, the objective is the same, as the duo embark on a full season of ALMS competition in a class that saw Level 5 Motorsports race uncontested last year.
“You race to win of course but we also have to be realistic that it's our first day on track with the car,” Plowman said. “If we've [worked out] every little problem, you would think we'd have a good chance of winning if a few guys run into trouble.
“We just need to have a very clean race and see where we end up. Pace wise, I think we'll get there. It's a long season and our goal is to get mileage and finish the race.”
John Dagys is SPEED.com’s Sportscar Racing Reporter, focusing on all major domestic and international championships. You can follow him on Twitter @johndagys or email him at
ALMS Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
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