Kent’s Mike Conway fulfilled a life long dream at the weekend with victory at the Le Mans 24 hour race.

It has been a long time coming for Conway and the number seven Toyota Gazoo Racing, with plenty of near misses over the years, and even this year wasn’t plain sailing.

Mike and his teammates Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez led from the front having started the race from pole position.

Conway started the race in wet conditions and he showed his experience with an excellent stint to build up a healthy lead on their rivals, namely the number 8 Toyota of their teammates.

By the time night descended the number seven car was two minutes ahead of the number eight car.

Then came an issue that could have meant the dream of taking a maiden Le Mans victory was hanging in the balance for Conway.

As a new day dawned there was a fuel system issue that was hampering them, but with a few hours left of the race, they had enough of a gap to cross the line two laps ahead.

It was a fantastic moment for Conway who has achieved one of his aims in motorsport.

Speaking after the weekend, a delighted Conway said: “It was a hard race. We knew we had an issue on the car for the last six hours and that could have been a really big problem, but the team came up with a solution to keep us going.

“All credit to them for getting a one-two finish. It is really special in the circumstances. This race is never easy. Even if you are out on your own at the front, anything can happen.

“I want to thank my team-mates for their mega stints and hard work all the time, plus the team in Cologne and Japan for their support and hard work that made this possible. We can enjoy it now because a weight is lifted off us.”

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