Mike Conway (born 19 August 1983) is a British professional racing driver. He lives in
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and is currently competing in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
with
Toyota Gazoo Racing
Toyota Gazoo Racing (or Toyota GR/TGR) is a motorsport/performance brand of the Japanese automaker Toyota.
Many divisions in various racing disciplines use the branding, including Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT, Toyota's World Rally Championship te ...
.
Biography
Conway who was born in
Bromley
Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011.
Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, attended
Sevenoaks Prep School
Sevenoaks Prep School is a co-educational, day preparatory school for 385 pupils aged 2–13 in Sevenoaks in south-east England. The school is situated on the Sackville estate, on grounds bordering the park of Knole House. It was founded in 19 ...
from 1986 to 1996.
Karting to F3
Like many racing drivers, he started
karting
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
at the age of eight at
Rye House in
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. After that, he went on to be the Formula A British Karting Champion, then raced in
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
with
Van Diemen
Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula For ...
. He was the
Formula Renault UK
British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was g ...
Champion in 2004 and then entered the
British F3 International Series in 2005, with the same
Fortec Motorsport
Fortec Motorsport Ltd. is a motor-racing team that races in the GB3 Championship. The team was bought in 1995 by current owner Richard Dutton.
Past drivers for the team include Juan Pablo Montoya, Gianmaria Bruni, Danny Watts, Jamie Green, ...
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
Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
, as well as managing 13th in the
BP Ultimate Masters at
Zandvoort
Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...
, having started 16th, while at the
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...
, 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
Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver, best known as a Formula One driver and as a commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011, and Sky Sports since 2012.
Brundle contested the 19 ...
and
Mark Blundell
Mark Blundell (born 8 April 1966) is a British racing driver who competed in Formula One for four seasons, sports cars, and CART. He won the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. He was a Formula One presenter for the British broadcaster ITV until the ...
, and signed for the
Räikkönen Robertson Racing team, owned by then
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
driver
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
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
The Pau Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Pau) is a motor race held in Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of southwestern France. The French Grand Prix was held at Pau in 1930, leading to the annual Pau Grand Prix being inaugurat ...
, in France, a round of the
British F3 International Series for 2006 - Romain Grosjean won the race. While at the
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...
, after qualifying 11th, he finished 7th in the qualifying race, before becoming the first British driver to win the Grand Prix since
Darren Manning
Darren Manning (born 30 April 1975) is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Career history
Early career
Manning was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, ...
in 1999.
GP2
![Mike Conway 2008 GP2 Silverstone](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Mike_Conway_2008_GP2_Silverstone.jpg)
He also made his
GP2 debut at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
in June 2006, when he replaced the injured
Olivier Pla
Olivier Pla (born 22 October 1981) is a French racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Glickenhaus Racing. His younger brother Jim is also a racing driver
Career
French Formula Campus and Formula Three
Bor ...
in a
DPR Direxiv car. Having stalled at the start of Race One, he battled home to 11th place. In Race 2 he finished 11th again.
Conway also won the National Racing Driver of the Year Award at the 2006 McLaren
Autosport
''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship.
Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...
Awards.
He then signed up to drive a full season for
Super Nova Racing
Super Nova Racing was a British racing team that has competed in Formula 3000/ GP2 and the A1 Grand Prix series. Super Nova first entered racing in 1991. Super Nova was a new incarnation of the pre-existing David Sears Motorsport, sponsored by ...
in the
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...
, taking a podium finish at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, and also signed as a test driver with the
Honda Racing F1 Team
The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has participated in Formula One, as an engine manufacturer and team owner, for various periods since 1964. Honda's involvement in Formula One began with the season, and in 1965 they achieved their fi ...
br>
He remained in the series for
2008 GP2 Series season, 2008, having signed for the
Trident Racing
Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...
team, after testing for several other team
At
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
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
Javier Villa García (born 5 October 1987) is a Spanish racing driver living in Arriondas, Asturias, Spain. He drove in the GP2 Series from 2006 towards 2009. In 2010 he switched to touring cars, driving at the Spanish Mini Challenge and later th ...
on the final la
At
Magny-Cours
Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France.
It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is of ...
he also finished 8th in the feature race, but this time he 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
![Mike Conway - August 2014 - Sarah Stierch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Mike_Conway_-_August_2014_-_Sarah_Stierch.jpg)
During 2008, Conway was given an opportunity to test an IndyCar Series car at
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern ...
and surprised several series regulars by being top of the times during one session. Conway signed with
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitro Rallycross. The team is owned by Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini, and Subaru dealer Dennis Reinbold.
Off the track, Dreyer & ...
to compete in the IndyCar Series full-time in
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
.
On the final lap of the
2010 Indianapolis 500
The 94th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 2010. It was the 15th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was the premier event of the 2010 IndyCar Series season, 2010 IZ ...
, Conway was battling side by side with
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
when the two cars became entangled as Hunter-Reay's
Dallara
Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...
ran low on fuel and stuttered between turns 3 and 4, resulting in Conway's Dallara-
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
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
In vertebrates, thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. In humans, there are twelve thoracic vertebra (anatomy), vertebrae and they are intermediate in size b ...
and has been fitted with back brace. The injuries effectively ended his participation in the rest of the 2010 Izod IndyCar Series season.
On 1 February 2011,
Andretti Autosport
Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...
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.
![Mike Conway 2012 Detroit GP](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Mike_Conway_2012_Detroit_GP.jpg)
Conway moved to the
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...
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
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
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
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, 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
Wade Grant Cunningham (born 19 August 1984) is a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand who competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series.
Racing career
Indy Lights
Cunningham's professional career began when he won the Karting World Champ ...
. Conway's decision stemmed from injuries after a crash at the
2010 Indianapolis 500
The 94th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 2010. It was the 15th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and was the premier event of the 2010 IndyCar Series season, 2010 IZ ...
and the debate over IndyCar competing on oval tracks after the October 2011 death of
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...
.
In
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, 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
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
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.
Sports car racing
![Toyota TS050 Conway Silverstone 2018 Village](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Toyota_TS050_Conway_Silverstone_2018_Village.jpg)
In 2013, Conway decided to enter sports car racing to supplement his Indycar career. He became a full-time driver for
G-Drive Racing in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
. Conway and co-drivers
John Martin and
Roman Rusinov
Roman Aleksandrovich Rusinov ( rus, Рома́н Алекса́ндрович Ру́синов, p=rɐˈman ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈrusʲɪnəv, born 21 October 1981 in Moscow) is a Russian auto racing driver who competed in the FIA World Endu ...
were excluded from a 3rd-place finish at Le Mans in LMP2 but took four class wins in the season to finish 3rd in the LMP2 Drivers trophy.
In 2014, in addition to Indycar Conway joined
Toyota Racing as a test and reserve driver in the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
. He raced in Austin, Bahrain and São Paulo, collecting a race win.
The Brit soon became a full-time driver at Toyota for the 2015 season, racing with
Stéphane Sarrazin
Stéphane Jean-Marc Sarrazin (born 2 November 1975) is a French professional racing driver. He has won races across a number of single-seater, sportscar and rallying disciplines and competitions, was French Formula Renault champion in 1994, and ...
and
Alexander Wurz
Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He is curren ...
.
Formula E
In July 2014 it was announced that Conway would race in
Formula E
Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is ...
with the
Dragon Racing
Dragon Racing (formerly Luczo-Dragon Racing) is an American auto racing team that is involved in many areas of motorsport. Dragon Racing was founded in 2007 by Jay Penske and Stephen J. Luczo. The team competed in the IndyCar Series from 200 ...
Team. However, on 5 September, Conway announced he had left the team.
Motorsports career results
Career summary
† – As Conway was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete GP2 Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete IndyCar Series results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position. Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
:
1 ''The
Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...
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
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete Formula E results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Le Mans Series results
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
* Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Mike
1983 births
Living people
People 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