Mike Conway

Michael Robert Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in Sevenoaks, Kent and is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Early career

Conway who was born in Bromley, London, attended Sevenoaks Prep School from 1986 to 1996.

Karting to F3

Conway began racing in karting at the age of eight at Rye House in Hertfordshire. After that, he went on to be the Formula A British Karting Champion, then raced in Formula Ford with Van Diemen. He was the Formula Renault UK Champion in 2004 and then entered the British F3 International Series in 2005, with the same Fortec Motorsport team with which he had competed in Formula Renault UK.

In British F3, he was the highest placed rookie and finished 3rd behind Alvaro Parente and Charlie Kimball, as well as managing 13th in the BP Ultimate Masters at Zandvoort, having started 16th. At the Macau Grand Prix, Conway ended up fourth in both the qualifying and the qualifying race around the Circuito da Guia, before a problematic Grand Prix saw him retire with engine failure, but classified 14th.

Following that success he was signed by 2MB Sports Management run by former Grand Prix drivers Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell, and signed for the Räikkönen Robertson Racing team, owned by then McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen and his race-manager Steve Robertson. In the 2006 season, Mike dominated the British F3 International Series, and clinched the title with three races remaining, as well as finishing first of the British F3 drivers in Race Two of the prestigious Pau Grand Prix, in France, a round of the British F3 International Series for 2006 - Romain Grosjean won the race. While at the Macau Grand Prix, after qualifying 11th, he finished 7th in the qualifying race, before becoming the first British driver to win the Grand Prix since Darren Manning in 1999.

GP2

2006

Conway made his GP2 debut at Silverstone in June 2006, when he replaced the injured Olivier Pla in a DPR Direxiv car. Having stalled at the start of race one, he battled to 11th place. In race two he also finished 11th.

Conway won the National Racing Driver of the Year Award at the 2006 McLaren Autosport Awards.

2007

He then signed to drive a full season for Super Nova Racing in the 2007 GP2 Series, taking a podium finish at Silverstone, and signed as a test driver with the Honda Racing F1 Teambr>
He remained in the series for 2008 GP2 Series season, 2008, having signed for the Trident Racing team, after testing for several other team

At Monaco he took his first GP2 series win (and first 2008 podium) in the sprint race, earning pole position by finishing 8th in the feature race, in which he ran third before being hit by backmarker Javier Villa on the final la

At Magny-Cours he finished 8th in the feature race, but faded to finish 6th in a wet sprint race. He eventually finished 12th in the drivers' championship, an improvement of two positions on the previous year.

IndyCar career

During 2008, Conway was given an opportunity to test an IndyCar Series car at Infineon Raceway and surprised several series regulars by being top of the times during one session. Conway signed with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing to compete in the IndyCar Series full-time in 2009.

On the final lap of the 2010 Indianapolis 500, Conway was battling side by side with Ryan Hunter-Reay when the two cars became entangled as Hunter-Reay's Dallara ran low on fuel and stuttered between turns 3 and 4, resulting in Conway's Dallara-Honda being launched into the air. Conway suffered a broken leg during the crash and was flown straight to the Methodist Hospital of Indianapolis. Conway also received a compression fracture of one of his thoracic vertebrae and was fitted with a back brace. The injuries effectively ended his participation in the rest of the 2010 Izod IndyCar Series season.

On 1 February 2011, Andretti Autosport announced that Conway had been signed to a full-time ride for the 2011 IndyCar season. He won his first IndyCar race at Long Beach on 17 April 2011, but the remainder of the year was disappointing, as Conway only managed to score three more top-10 finishes and failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500; he finished 17th in the championship.

Conway moved to the A. J. Foyt Enterprises team for the 2012 season. He also made his racing return to the Indianapolis 500, having failed to qualify the year before. He qualified near the back but appeared to have a strong car coming up several positions during the race. On lap 79 Conway entered the pits during a scheduled green flag pit stop period. He made contact with one of his crew members damaging his front wing but not injuring the crew member. The damage went unnoticed by the crew who hurried up the pit stop to keep Conway in contention. A few laps later Conway lost control of his car spinning in front of Will Power and making contact with Power causing him to hit the inside wall. At the same time Conway's car turned around backwards and flew airborne into the fence topside first. Conway was uninjured in the incident, but due to damage he was unable to finish the race and was scored in 29th position. He later finished in third place in Toronto, his best result of the season.

In the week leading up to the final race of the 2012 season—held at the Fontana superspeedway—Conway informed the Foyt team that he no longer felt comfortable competing on oval tracks, and asked not to race. He was replaced by Wade Cunningham. Conway's decision stemmed from injuries after a crash at the 2010 Indianapolis 500 and the debate over IndyCar competing on oval tracks after the October 2011 death of Dan Wheldon.

In 2013, Conway ran a one race deal with Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Racing at Long Beach finishing 25th with an electrical issue, then signed with Dale Coyne Racing for the doubleheader events of the year, winning his first race out at the Belle Isle Park Course. In 2014 he ran only the road courses and street circuits for Ed Carpenter Racing winning both the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach as well as the Honda Indy Toronto Doubleheader.

Sportscar career

2013

In 2013, Conway decided to enter sports car racing to supplement his IndyCar career, becoming a full-time driver for G-Drive Racing in the LMP2 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Having started the campaign with two points finishes, Conway and co-drivers John Martin and Roman Rusinov were excluded from a third place at Le Mans due to a fuel tank infraction. They then found form, dominantly winning from pole at São Paulo and Austin. After finishing second in Japan, the trio won the final two races to finish third in the category standings.

2014

The following year, Conway joined LMP1 outfit Toyota Gazoo Racing as a test and reserve driver in the WEC, driving for the team in three races besides his IndyCar commitments. He would score his first overall win in sportscars at Bahrain, beating the Porsche entries on pace during the middle of the contest. In addition to his duties in sportscars and IndyCar, Conway was announced as one of Dragon Racing's drivers for the inaugural Formula E season in July, though he left the team on 5 September before the first round.

2015–2016

The Brit would become a full-time driver at Toyota for the 2015 season, racing with the experienced pairing of Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz. Over the course of the year, Toyota was unable to keep up with its rivals, as Conway and his teammates finished sixth in the standings, level on points with the sister car. With the retirement of Wurz, Conway and Sarrazin were joined by Kamui Kobayashi ahead of 2016. After being promoted to second at Silverstone due to a disqualification for Audi, Conway made a mistake at Spa, hitting the #37 LMP2 entry and being forced to serve a drive-through penalty. The car was later retired due to an engine failure. Conway began the Le Mans 24 Hours well by overtaking the Porsches of Timo Bernhard and Neel Jani to take the lead in the opening hour. He lost the lead to Jani during the night but emerged ahead due to a superior strategy in the morning; a chance of victory went begging however when the #6 had to enter the garage to fix floor damage, thus losing a place to the #2 Porsche and eventually ending up second after the #5's retirement on the final lap. From the middle part of the campaign the #6 would become a constant on the podium, finishing third in Mexico and America before winning its home race at Fuji after a strong performance by Kobayashi. The trio finished second in Shanghai despite suffering two punctures but lost out on the title in the final round, eventually finishing third overall.

2017

In 2017, Conway's teammates changed again, as he and Kobayashi were now partnering José María López in the #7. An early lead battle at the season opener was ended when López crashed heavily, though the team bounced back to claim second at Spa. Drama followed at Le Mans: Conway had re-taken a lead he had lost during the second hour, which later became substantial because of reliability struggles for the entire LMP1 field. The #7 would not be spared however, as the car's clutch broke during the night and forced them to retire. Over the rest of the campaign, Conway and his teammates only scored two more podiums and finished last of the four full-time LMP1 entries in the standings.

2018–19

With the absence of any manufacturers outside of Toyota in the top class for the 2018–19 season, Conway, Kobayashi, and López would be battling the sister car throughout the year. Their dominance showed at round one, where Conway made his way through all other classes within the first hour despite starting from the back of the grid and later narrowly lost out on victory to Fernando Alonso in the #8. The #7 finished second to the sister car at Le Mans and once again lost out at Silverstone despite a pole from Conway and López, though both cars would be disqualified post-race. Fuji proved to be a standout race for Conway, who took the lead from teammate Sébastien Buemi in the pits at the halfway mark and extended it to almost 15 seconds, resulting in his first win of the year. Another victory followed at Shanghai, where Conway held on to first place in spite of the pressure created by the quicker Kazuki Nakajima in the closing laps. However, this would be the last win for the #7 that season, as they were held back by a collision with a GT entry at Sebring and issues at Spa, where a qualifying lap record by Conway and Kobayashi was undone by a sensor failure which lost them the chance of a podium. A win at the 2019 Le Mans race was scuppered within the final hour, as the outfit suffered a puncture which put them behind the sister car. Regardless of the Le Mans outcome, the #7 came second in the standings, 41 points behind the #8.

2019–20

For the fifth full season in succession, Conway returned to Toyota in 2019–20. The final season of LMP1 regulations began well, as Conway and Kobayashi combined for pole at Silverstone before winning the race along with López. A second place at Fuji and third place to the sister car and the winning Rebellion Racing entry in China preceded the team's second victory at the 2019 8 Hours of Bahrain, where Conway was able to avoid the lap 1 chaos to establish an early advantage. The #7 would retain the championship, as they followed a third place in the United States with a commanding win at Spa after the COVID-induced break. However, they once again lost out on a Le Mans victory by finishing second to the sister crew; they lost the lead this time thanks to a loss of power caused by a fracture in an exhaust manifold during the early hours of Sunday. Consolation would come at the final round in Bahrain, where a pole position from Conway and López led to a victory and, eventually, the WEC title.

2021

In 2021, the new Le Mans Hypercar formula would be introduced, forcing Conway and his teammates to pilot the new Toyota GR010 Hybrid in the WEC. Having experienced a troubled run at Spa which relegated the #7 to third behind the grandfathered LMP1 of Alpine and finished second at Portimão, the trio drove an untroubled Monza race and won following a short battle with the Alpine. At Le Mans, Kobayashi qualified the car on pole. Conway then went on to take a dominant lead after the #8 suffered a crash on the first safety car restart; the #7 team experienced few troubles and won, giving Conway, Kobayashi, and López their first respective victories at the 24 Hours. The championship lead they had gained would be solidified at the first Bahrain event where the #7 outpaced the #8 to win for the third time running. Despite losing first place to the sister car at the season finale, Conway and his teammates ended up retaining the World Championship with a second-place finish, therefore becoming the first titlists in the Hypercar era.

2022

The 2022 season proved to be more difficult: the team suffered a heavy crash at Sebring at the hands of López, though they bounced back to win at Spa amidst race-ending issues for the #8. Conway had multiple fights for the lead with Buemi at Le Mans, but the team was forced to settle for second after encountering a front-axle motor–generator issue during the morning hours. The #7 then finished third at Monza, where a fight with the Alpine resulted in a collision, a penalty for Kobayashi, and a third-place finish. Despite Kobayashi's pole at Fuji the team was unable to keep up with the sister car and came second; Conway and his teammates finished the season on a positive note by winning in Bahrain, where Conway's pace allowed the team to issue orders to Brendon Hartley to let the Brit past. The #7's drivers finished third in the overall table, 16 points behind their teammates.

2023

With an influx of new manufacturers, 2023 would bring stronger opposition for Toyota. Still, the team managed to start well, as Conway and the #7 won the opening round in Sebring. Portimão however brought problems, with a failure of a torque sensor necessitating a swap of the left-side driveshaft and resulting in ninth place at the flag. A victory at Spa was followed up by a retirement at Le Mans, where Kobayashi had to retire at midnight following a crash caused by an LMP2 car. Despite the virtual impossibility of winning the title at that point, the #7 crew persevered, coming out on top in a lead battle with the #50 Ferrari at Monza. They also triumphed at Fuji, once again winning from pole but this time after a long chase of the #6 Porsche. A runner-up spot at Bahrain was enough for Conway and his teammates to finish second, though they lost out on both the race win and the championship to the #8.

2024

Toyota made a change to its driver lineup for the 2024 campaign: López left the team, with Conway and Kobayashi now partnering former reserve driver Nyck de Vries. However, Conway would be forced to miss Le Mans after he fractured his ribs and collarbone in a cycling accident a day before the race. Jose Maria López replaced Conway for the Le Mans weekend.

Racing record

Career summary

† – As Conway was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

^* Season still in progress.

Complete GP2 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete IndyCar Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position. Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

: ¹ ''The Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.''

Indianapolis 500

Complete V8 Supercar results

† Not Eligible for points

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

^* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Formula E results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Mike
1983 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Sevenoaks
English racing drivers
British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers
British Formula Three Championship drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
Formula Ford drivers
GP2 Series drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
IndyCar Series drivers
North American Formula Renault drivers
Supercars Championship drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
International GT Open drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Formula E drivers
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
Fortec Motorsport drivers
Double R Racing drivers
David Price Racing drivers
Super Nova Racing drivers
Trident Racing drivers
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing drivers
Andretti Autosport drivers
A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers
Dale Coyne Racing drivers
G-Drive Racing drivers
Ed Carpenter Racing drivers
Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers
Venturi Grand Prix drivers
Action Express Racing drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
Dragon Racing drivers
TDS Racing drivers
Comtec Racing drivers
Level 5 Motorsports drivers
Alan Docking Racing drivers
Manor Motorsport drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers