Mike Conway and his teammates, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, endured a tough weekend in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji as the #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing crew battled valiantly on race day, before misfortune struck the #7 GR010 HYBRID, bringing their promising race to a premature end.
In front of 65,000 enthusiastic home fans on race day, the team looked to build upon a solid qualifying performance which saw Mike taking the green flag from fourth on the grid.
In an intense start to the race, which resulted in a safety car on lap two, Mike settled into fifth position behind the sister #8 car for the opening stint, and would put on a calm and consistent driving display to hold position amongst the jostling Hypercar field.
Further position changes saw the second hour come to a close with Mike still holding fifth place, however the #7 GR010 Hybrid suffered increased tyre degradation, forcing the car to pit earlier than planned, with Nyck De Vries taking the reigns for his opening stint.
Despite the tough start to the race, the team’s bold fuel and tyre strategy began to pay off. After half distance, Nyck overtook the #15 BMW and the #50 Ferrari, before overhauling the #6 Porsche in the pits to seize the lead.
After almost four hours of intense competition, Kamui Kobayashi would take over for two stints to hunt down the victory, with the #7 car now in a stronger strategic position in terms of fuel and tyres compared to their rivals. But a virtual safety car early in the fifth hour took away that advantage by giving all Hypercars the chance to pit and lose less time compared to doing so under racing conditions.
A 90-minute sprint to the flag would follow and the #7 would hit misfortune when Kamui and the #5 Porsche made contact in the battle for eighth. Damage to the rear suspension and bodywork could not be repaired in time, forcing the car to be retired with an hour remaining, a premature end to a brilliant on-track effort from the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Team.
The frustrating result, leaves Mike occupying fourth place of the Drivers' standings and ultimately ends the FIA WEC Drivers' championship chances for Kamui and Nyck. However, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Team continues to occupy second in the FIA WEC Manufacturers' championship with one round remaining. Mike's season will conclude with the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain on the 2nd of November where he will be looking to help the team retain their manufacturer's title.
Mike Conway:
“It’s been a pretty rough day on both cars. Unfortunately for car #7 we had contact and the car was not repairable, so we didn’t score any points which is bad for our drivers’ championship, and as a team we didn’t score well for the manufacturers’ either. It’s obviously frustrating and not the result we wanted for our home fans and all the partners and Toyota colleagues who support us here. But there is one round to go and it’s a longer race, with more points available, so we will do our best to come back fighting.”
