Productive Sebring Open Test for Conquest Racing
With mixed weather conditions on Sunday, Lee’s quickest lap of the weekend (58.930 seconds) came on Saturday as did Hogan’s (59.019 seconds). They ended the first day of testing in eighth and 12th place respectively. Lee’s best time being only three tenths off the fastest time of the weekend set by Raphael Matos.
Day-two started with a downpour that washed all the rubber off the track, which made for slower lap times. Lee found himself in ninth place at the end of Sunday’s test session with a lap of 58.984 seconds and Hogan was 18th in a very close 24-car field after clocking a time of 59.482 seconds.
“The team did a great job over the course of the two-day test. We had the chance to try a lot of different things on the cars, especially with the rain soaking the track Sunday morning, and we’re able to gather information that will be useful in the future," explained Team Manager Steve Ragan. “Matt continued his progression all while showing his speed and he did a good job once again."
Rookie Matt Lee was participating in his first Atlantic open test and was content with his two-days in Sebring.
“Overall I’m happy with how things progressed this weekend. Everything went well on Saturday. The bad weather Sunday morning didn’t help and our last day didn’t go quite as expected," said 17-year-old Lee. “But we did collect important data and I did learn a lot this weekend. Now I can’t wait to get back in the car at our next open test in Houston in February."
The Conquest Team also had the opportunity to evaluate Paddy (Patrick) Hogan during the two-days of testing. “Paddy performed well," said Ragan of Hogan’s test. “He fit well into the team and was nice to work with."
The Irishman was testing an Atlantic car for only the third time and was satisfied with how things went.
“It was a good test in general. We were quick on the first day, but unfortunately our time from Sunday doesn’t really reflect our speed and our position in the field," expressed Hogan. “It’s disappointing because there was still a little bit left in the car on Sunday, but in the end I learned quite a bit and overall it was a very encouraging test. I also really enjoyed working with the Conquest Team, they’re a good bunch."
The Mi-Jack Conquest Atlantic Team now heads back to the shop in Indianapolis to get ready for the second open test of the season which takes place at MSR Houston February 9-10.