WEC – Toyota takes Mike Conway as reserve

Mike conway leaves G-Drive Racing to take the place of test driver and reserve driver at Toyota Racing. The 30-year-old Briton was able to convince the Japanese manufacturer after showing off this season at the wheel of the No. 03 Oreca 26 shared with Roman Rusinov and John Martin. Its program will therefore be shared between IndyCar road races with Ed Carpenter Racing and the development of the TS040 where testing is planned for next month. “I am delighted to join Toyota Racing as a test and reserve driver in 2014, a role which fits well with my training programme.IndyCar », comments the 2006 British champion F3. ?It?s every driver?s ambition to be involved with an official team at the highest level of international motorsport and that?s what Toyota Racing offers me. I would like to thank my manager Mark Blundell and everyone at Toyota Racing for putting this deal in place which gives me such an opportunity. I look forward to contributing to the team?s success in 2014 and hope this is just the beginning of a long and successful relationship. »

This new position could even be the opportunity for Mike Conway to compete for the WEC in the premier category. Kazuki Nakajima may in fact not be able to compete in all the rounds on the calendar since he will also be busy with his Super GT program. The Briton seems cut out for the challenge since he has solid experience with three seasons contested in the GP2 Series and five years already spent in IndyCar. ?We are pleased to welcome Mike to the team and I am confident that his contribution will be valuable alongside our already strong crews?, adds Yoshiaki Kinoshita, the President of the team. “We have followed his career closely over the last two years and we see him as a real talent whose behavior fits perfectly with Toyota Racing. He will provide support during the development program as we work to develop a race-winning car in 2014 and beyond. »