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Mike Conway to Retire from Full-Time Racing After Twelve Seasons with Toyota
Two-time Le Mans winner Mike Conway will conclude his twelve-year factory stint with Toyota at the 6 Hours of Monza, closing his full-time WEC career amid a tight championship fight.
By Lesley Bakker - 2026-10-06T19:28:00.000Z - 3 min read
Mike Conway will step down from full-time endurance racing at the conclusion of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, closing a defining twelve-year spell with Toyota Gazoo Racing. The 43-year-old British driver, who entered the manufacturer's top-tier sportscar operation in 2014, will make his final competitive start in the factory Hypercar squad at the 6 Hours of Monza on 8 November.
Conway's impending exit marks the departure of one of the longest-serving factory drivers in the modern prototype paddock. Across 94 World Endurance Championship starts behind the wheel of Toyota machinery, the Briton amassed 20 victories, two world drivers' championships in the 2019–20 and 2021 campaigns, and contributed to seven world titles for the Japanese marque. His tenure spanned the full evolution of Toyota's sportscar programme, weathering early technical heartbreaks and later anchoring the manufacturer's transition into the Hypercar era.
Nowhere was Conway's persistence more visible than at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Across twelve appearances at the Circuit de la Sarthe, he experienced both the harshest disappointments and the highest honours of 24-hour racing. Between 2016 and 2020, Conway finished as runner-up on four separate occasions, watching potential victories slip away in the final hours before finally breaking through onto the top step.
That long-awaited breakthrough arrived in 2021, when Conway took his first Le Mans triumph in the number 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid alongside Kamui Kobayashi and José María López. A second overall victory followed earlier in the 2026 campaign, where Conway shared top honours at La Sarthe with Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries. Those two wins, paired with five podium finishes across twelve starts, cemented his reputation as one of the most reliable endurance racers of his generation.
Inside the Toyota garage, Conway earned widespread admiration for his calm demeanour and consistent race pace. Longtime teammate Kobayashi, who also acts as Toyota Team Principal, reflected on the deep personal and professional bond forged over countless stints in the shared cockpit of the number 7 entry.
"It has been a pleasure to race the #7 car with Mike for so many years," said Kobayashi. "We have shared so many emotional moments together, particularly at Le Mans. Some of my most incredible memories in racing have come alongside Mike. He has been an incredible teammate, not only in terms of speed and consistency, but on a human level as well. He has become a friend to many of us, and we will miss having him in the team. But nothing lasts forever in motorsports, and we all want to wish Mike a deserved, and very happy, retirement with his family."
Before Conway packs away his helmet, one final competitive task remains on the track. With two events left on the 2026 calendar, Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries occupy second place in the drivers' championship standings, trailing the sister number 8 Toyota crew of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa by ten points. The impending Monza finale ensures that Conway's storied career with Toyota will end amid a direct fight for world championship silverware.