Mike Conway is aiming high at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend as he and his TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team-mates gear up for the historic 88th running of the contest.
Taking place three months later than initially scheduled, the 24 hour race will see Mike – along with Kamui Kobayashi and José María López – take charge of the #7 TS050 HYBRID for its swansong appearance at the Circuit de la Sarthe. The trio finished as runners-up at last year’s event and are aiming to go one better this time around.
Claiming victory at the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – the first World Endurance Championship round since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic – the #7 crew enter the Le Mans weekend confident of taking that elusive victory. Before the season was suspended, the team took top honours at the 4 Hours of Silverstone and 8 Hours of Bahrain events.
They currently occupy first place in the WEC standings, leading their #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing counterparts by 12 points. Staging the penultimate round of the delayed 2019-20 season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans will offer a total maximum of 51 points to the race victors which will be crucial as the championship enters its final stages.
With the race moved to later in the year, it will create a unique challenge with almost half of the 24 hour duration set to be run in complete darkness. As the highlight of the endurance racing season, Mike can’t wait to get the weekend underway.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Conway said: “I’m tired of coming second at Le Mans; I’ve done it three times already so the only target this year for the #7 car is to win. Le Mans is such a special race because of all the history and how hard it is to win.
“It’s only once a year and it’s the team’s main focus when they build the car. So everything is for Le Mans and it is constantly on our mind through the whole season.
“Last year we were unlucky but we have another big chance this season; the TS050 HYBRID is a great car with two great driver line-ups. As always, we have got to execute our race and make the right decisions.”