Q&A with Mike Conway

Q: What is the reason for you racing with the Thiriet by TDS Racing team in Le Castellet?

Normally Ryo Hirakawa has the seat but he had some racing commitments in Japan, so Toyota has known for a while that Ryo cannot race at Paul Ricard. Pascal asked me if I would be interested to step in and I jumped at the chance. I love racing and I enjoy racing these LMP2 cars, so it should be a lot of fun.

Q: The team have won the last two races in Italy and Austria. What is your goal for the weekend in France?

The team has been really strong all season. Obviously as a team we are all interested in Ryo’s progress so I have been impressed by what I’ve seen from him and the team this year. They set a high standard and I want to keep that going; I’m sure we’ll be aiming for the win.

Q: You last raced in LMP2 in 2013 with G-Drive Racing. What is going to be the main differences between the LMP2 Oreca 05 and the LMP1 Toyota TS050 hybrid you race in the World Endurance Championship?

The main difference is the increased power and the hybrid systems. My TS050 HYBRID is a very complex car - you only need to look at the steering wheel to see how much more there is to do for a driver in these LMP1 cars. And that means we have 1000hp to play with which is good fun. But I still enjoy the LMP2 cars where you don’t have to think so much about fuel cuts and energy recovery - it’s more like old school racing. I drove the previous generation LMP2 car in 2013 but as far as I heard the new version is similar in terms of how it is driven. This means it’s a car you can really attack and have fun with.

Q: What are your thoughts on the track at Le Castellet?  When was the last time you raced there?

I like the track and nowadays I spend a lot of time there in the winter testing with Toyota. But it will be my first time to actually race there. Up to now I have only ever driven the track during testing.