Mike Conway is back in action this weekend as he heads with his Toyota team to the Circuit of Americas for the Lone Star Le Mans race.
Having missed the 2024 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to injury, Mike’s championship hopes may have faded but he aims to play a vital role in the drivers’ title fight for his #7 GR010 HYBRID teammates – Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries – and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing team in the manufacturers’ championship.
Last time out, Mike and the #7 crew showed exceptional pace in Brazil by earning pole position and leading the early stages in São Paulo before a technical issue saw them finish fourth. They will challenge for their second victory of the year in Austin, where the team has yet to win in six attempts.
The heat of a Texan summer awaits Mike and the team at the 5.513km Circuit of the Americas in the six-hour Lone Star Le Mans race, which returns to the WEC calendar for the first time since 2020.
The Circuit of the Americas holds special memories for Mike as it was the venue of his debut with TOYOTA GAZOO Racing back in 2014. Ten years, 69 races, 18 victories, and two Drivers’ World Championship titles later, Mike returns for his sixth appearance at the circuit in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has a best finish of second place in its six visits so far to Texas, with Mike’s best finish of third place coming in the 2020 edition of the race.
The Circuit of the Americas is, like Interlagos last time out, an anti-clockwise track, characterised by the steep hill up to turn one followed by a sequence of sweeping, fast corners which create a spectacular opening sector.
The team made an early start to its preparations for next week’s race with a three-day test in Austin at the end of July. Preparations step up a gear when track action starts on Friday 30 August with three hours of free practice in the afternoon split over two sessions. After a one-hour final practice on Saturday morning, the starting order will be decided during qualifying and Hyperpole, starting at 3.40pm local time (09.40pm BST). The seventh Lone Star Le Mans race starts at 1pm (7pm BST) on Sunday 1 September.
Speaking ahead of the weekend, Conway said: “My first race with Toyota was in Austin back in 2014 and it’s quite something to be going back there a decade later, after experiencing so much with this team. It doesn’t feel like 10 years!
“I’ve raced a lot in the US over the years and I love the atmosphere and the fans there, so I’m looking forward to going back. The competition will be tough, as always this season, but I know we will be well prepared so we need to execute a clean race and bring home as many points as we can.”