Mike conway
1. Who is Mike Conway?
Mike Conway is a British pilot who was born on 19 August 1983. His birthplace is Bromley. Since 2015, he has been competing with the Toyota Gazoo Racing team in the World Endurance Championship (WEC).
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2. Mike Conway’s junior journey
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Mike Conway, who made his debut in karting at the age of eight, began single-seater racing in Formula Ford in 2001 with Van Diemen. Mike Conway subsequently joined the British Formula Renault Championship. At the end of his second season in Formula Renault, he won the title in 2004. Building on this success, the British driver signed the following season with 2MB Sports Management in the British Formula 3 championship and finished in 3rd place.
Good performances which will bring him to the first step of this same championship in 2006 with Räikkönen Robertson Racing, the team of the former Formula 1 driver. In 2007, Mike Conway was promoted to the GP2 Series with Super Nova Racing. Mike Conway will have a difficult start with four retirements in the first seven races. Mike Conway still managed to get a podium in England at Silverstone and became a reserve driver for Honda in Formula 1.
For his second season in GP2, Mike Conway joined Trident Racing with whom he won in Monaco, his only victory of the season and finished in 12th place. The British driver finished in 12th position in the general classification at the end of the season.
During that same year, Mike Conway tried out Indycar which paid off as he joined Dreyer & Reinbold Racing the following season. In 2010, on the last lap of the Indianapolis 500, Mike Conway suffered an accident that sidelined him for six months. In the duel with Ryan Hunter-Reay, Mike Conway found himself thrown into the air, broke his leg and suffered numerous other injuries in the crash.
In 2011, the British driver joined Andretti Autosport for his second season in Indycar. It was with this new team that Mike Conway won his first victory in Long Beach. But the rest of the season is disappointing for the driver who competes under a British license. So the following year, the Bromley native joined AJ Foyt Enterprises. With his new team, Mike Conway manages to participate again in the Indianapolis 500, but does not finish the American event after an accident.
The following two seasons, Mike Conway will experience three different teams (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Dale Coyne Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing). The Briton will participate in a total of 19 rounds during which he manages to triumph twice in 2014.
After six years in the Indycar Series, Mike Conway leaves the championship with a third victory under his belt acquired in 2011 and 2014. In addition to Indycar and Endurance, Mike Conway should also have known Formula E. While he was to make his debut in Formula E that same year with Dragon Racing, a week before the start of the championship, the team announced his replacement by Orol Servià.
3. Mike Conway’s Endurance Journey
In parallel with his career in IndyCar, the native of Bromley decided to enter the 2013 Endurance Championship (WEC) in LMP2 with G-Drive Racing alongside John Martin and Roman Rusinov. For his first season in the WEC, Mike Conway will have a good start with 4 victories during his first season. The Briton could have added a podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to his record in LM P2, but Mike Conway will ultimately be downgraded at the end of the event held in the city of Le Mans in the WEC.
His first season in WEC with G-Drive Racing allowed him to be spotted by Toyota Gazoo Racing. He joined the team as a test and reserve driver. In 2014, he participated in three rounds alongside Alexander Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin. For his second race in LM P1, he won at the 6 Hours of Bahrain. Mike Conway followed up two weeks later with a 4th place in Sao Paulo.
His performances in the No. 7 Toyota will allow him to sign with Toyota Gazoo Racing in the WEC for a full season in 2015. Mike Conway, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurtz are the trio chosen to take control of the Toyota TS040 Hybrid . The exercise will be more complicated for Mike Conway in the WEC who must be content with a single podium with Toyota Gazoo Racing and a retirement at Le Mans.
Changes will then be made within Toyota Gazoo Racing in the WEC in 2016. Exit Alexander Wurtz who leaves his place to Kamui Kobayashi. This change will pay off for Toyota. At the wheel of the Toyota TS050 Hybrid in the LM P1 category in WEC, Mike Conway, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kamui Kobayashi will score 6 podiums in 9 races including for the first time for Mike Conway, a podium with Toyota in the city of Le Mans. In addition, the crew of the No. 6 Toyota will win the 6 Hours of Fuji in the WEC this season.
After a disappointing season in the WEC in 2017 (only 4 poles and 3 podiums), Mike Conway arrives with Kamui Kobayashi and José María Lopez to relaunch with the No. 7 Toyota. The Briton manages to win in Fuji and Shanghai. But these results will be insufficient to worry the other Toyota Gazoo Racing crew who will be ahead of the No. 7 Toyota in the general WEC standings. With José María Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway still has to be satisfied with 2nd place at Le Mans behind the trio of the No. 8 Toyota: Fernando Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima and Sébastien Buemi.
For the final season of the LM P1 era in the WEC, Mike Conway, José María Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi finally managed to climb to the top of the WEC standings at the end of the season. A performance that the Toyota TS050 Hybrid trio owes to their 4 victories at Spa-Francorchamps, at Silverstone and twice in Bahrain. But the native of Bromley is still missing a victory at Le Mans.
It was during the 2021 WEC season that the Briton finally obtained it. With Toyota Gazoo Racing, Mike Conway will triumph at Le Mans in Hypercar with pole position taken by Kamui Kobayashi. The rest of the season will also be filled with success for Toyota Gazoo Racing in Hypercar. In addition to his first place in Sarthe, the native of Bromley won the 6 Hours of Monza and the 6 Hours of Bahrain. By a short lead (5 points), the Toyota Gazoo Racing trio finished at the top of the 2021 World Endurance Championship for the second time in a row. In 7 attempts at Le Mans with Toyota Gazoo Racing, Mike Conway has only managed only once to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
4. AUTOhebdo's opinion on Mike Conway
After a disappointing stint in IndyCar, Mike Conway found his calling in the WEC. Long subscribed to 2nd places at Le Mans, Mike Conway managed to finally win in 2021. Within Toyota Gazoo Racing, Mike Conway brought serenity and reliability, two significant assets in Endurance. Although he is not the fastest driver among his trio, Mike Conway makes very few mistakes in the race. When its two teammates do not make a mistake, the No. 7 Toyota is still present in the match for victory in the Hypercar category.
5. Learn more about Mike Conway
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