Conway Aims for British Glory with Toyota at Le Mans

Mike Conway heads into this week’s Le Mans 24 Hours with the chance to become Toyota’s first British driver to stand on the top step of the podium at the world’s most famous sportscar race.

He follows in the footsteps of some of the most famous names in British motorsport who have taken up the Le Mans challenge for Toyota, including Formula 1 greats John Watson, Eddie Irvine, Martin Brundle, Johnny Dumfries and Allan McNish, plus Geoff Lees, Tiff Needell, Kenny Acheson and Anthony Davidson.

Conway, 37, from Sevenoaks, is the reigning World Champion in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), alongside his team-mates in the No7 car, Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi and Mexican driver José María López. He goes into this weekend’s race with two second places and a third at Le Mans to his credit since joining Toyota Gazoo Racing, initially as a reserve driver, in 2014.

“It feels like I have achieved everything else with Toyota,” said Conway. “I’ve won nine WEC races, started from pole at Le Mans and won the World Championship alongside Kamui and José. So there’s clearly a big box left to be ticked.”

Success in 2021 would be all the sweeter, as this is the first Le Mans for the new Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar – already a winner in its first three races in its debut season. Toyota Gazoo Racing are also eyeing their fourth successive victory in the 24 Hours.

“I feel the No7 car has shown over the years that we are capable of winning the race, but we have had some really bad luck. All we can do is prepare in the best way, just as we’ve done in the previous years, and be ready to execute our plan in the race,” said Conway.  “Le Mans is an incredibly tough event and anything can happen; we can only do our job 100 per cent, without mistakes.”

Reflecting on potentially becoming Toyota’s first British pilot to win at Le Mans he said: “I’m always proud to see the Union Flag on the side of our car, and to follow in the footsteps of British Toyota drivers like Martin Brundle, Anthony Davidson and Geoff Lees – drivers who achieved so much in endurance racing. If I could become the first British Le Mans winner for Toyota, that would be an amazing achievement, but there’s a lot of hard work to do first.”

That hard work continues tomorrow (18 August) with the start of official practice and qualifying, ahead of the race getting under way at 4pm local time on Saturday. The Davidson/Kobayashi/López Toyota will line up on the grid with the No8 car, driven by the regular trio of Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley.

ENDS