Nelson Philippe returns to Conquest in Australia
Nelson Philippe will replace Jan Heylen for the last two races of the ChampCar championship at Surfer Paradise (Australia) and Mexico City (Mexico) with Team Conquest. The Frenchman, who notably won a race in this category last year with Conquest, had not been able to secure a drive for 2007 and had moved from the […]
Nelson Philippe will replace Jan Heylen for the last two races of the ChampCar championship at Surfer Paradise (Australia) and Mexico City (Mexico) with Team Conquest.
The Frenchman, who notably won a race in this category last year with Conquest, had not been able to secure a drive for 2007 and had moved from the USA to Australia to compete in V8 Supercars.
The Valentinois is very popular in the land of kangaroos, and it’s one of the reasons that drove Eric Bachelart to replace Heylen with Philippe: « It’s important to have drivers involved in every race. And with Nelson Philippe, we know that will be the case here. Especially since he is extremely popular in Australia.
« I am eager to work with Philippe again, nonetheless, parting ways with Heylen after he had a good season and achieved his best result in 2nd position last time remains very difficult. Unfortunately, it’s the randomness of the schedule… » Continues the director of Conquest.
« It’s true that during the season, there were a few incidents – almost none of them his fault – but we had to pay a high price and today we had to make a decision. But ideally, for 2008, I would like to see Jan and Nelson as drivers for the team. »
On his side, Nelson Philippe is more than happy to get back behind the wheel of a true single-seater. “I am happy to be back in a car like that, especially at Surfer Paradise.”
But even if the return is not definitive, the Drômois is still young and has time to learn and become a champion. « I’ve tested NASCAR and the Australian V8 Supercars, but I’m only 21 years old and I still have time. But I feel that at Surfer Paradise, I will enjoy it. »
This announcement published yesterday thus completes a list of three transfers for the Australia event as David Martinez will race for Forsythe and Mario Dominguez will be with Pacifique Motorsports.
The French contingent will also be strengthened since there have never been as many French drivers in ChampCar with Gommendy, Pagenaud, Bourdais, and now the return of Philippe.
