Mike Conway will step away from full-time professional motorsport at the end of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season, bringing an end to a career that has included two Le Mans victories, two world titles and more than a decade at the heart of Toyota’s endurance racing programme.
The 43-year-old announced his decision ahead of the final two rounds of the current campaign, explaining that his second overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans earlier this year played a major role in determining that the time was right to stop racing full-time.
Conway will make his final appearance for Toyota at the 6 Hours of Monza from 6-8 November, which will mark his 94th start for the Japanese manufacturer. Before then, he remains firmly involved in the 2026 title fight alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, with the #7 crew sitting only 10 points away from the championship lead.
Conway closes a career that began in single-seaters
Conway’s career began in karting before he progressed through the British single-seater ladder, winning both the Formula Renault UK and British Formula 3 titles. He also claimed victory at the Macau Grand Prix before earning opportunities to test Formula 1 machinery with Honda Racing in 2007 and 2008.
His career then took him to North America, where he competed in IndyCar and earned four race victories. Conway eventually shifted his focus towards endurance racing in 2013, joining G-Drive Racing in the LMP2 class of the FIA WEC.
The transition immediately proved successful. Four victories from eight rounds carried him to third in the championship during his rookie endurance campaign and helped open the door to a factory Toyota opportunity the following year.
Conway described the path from his first karting experience to the highest levels of international motorsport as something he could never have imagined when he began racing as a child.
“It’s been an amazing journey, and one I wouldn’t change for the world. I’m immensely proud of the career I’ve had, and extremely grateful to everyone who has supported me along the way.”
He continued: “My racing story started when I was eight-years-old, when my dad took me to a local kart track and lit a passion for the sport that has never left me. That passion took me all over the world to do my dream job, and I never once took it for granted.”
Toyota becomes Conway’s racing home
Toyota brought Conway into its WEC programme in 2014, initially on a part-time basis. He claimed his first top-class victory with Alexander Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin in Bahrain that year before becoming a central part of the manufacturer’s endurance racing line-up.
That initial success ultimately developed into one of the longest and most successful partnerships of the modern WEC era. Conway has since added 19 more victories with Toyota and played a major role as the manufacturer established itself as the championship’s dominant force across several seasons.
He won the Drivers’ World Championship in 2019-20 and again in 2021, while finishing inside the top three in the standings on four other occasions. Conway also contributed to seven Manufacturers’ titles for Toyota and established himself as the most successful British driver in FIA WEC history.
The relationship with Toyota consequently became far more than another stage in his career, with Conway describing the organisation as a second family after 13 seasons together.
“Motorsport has been my world for more than 20 years, and I’ve been lucky to meet so many incredible people, team-mates and team members – none more so than everyone at Toyota Racing, who welcomed me into the family in 2014 and with whom I’ve shared my greatest memories.”
He added: “It’s been an honour and a privilege to represent them. I can’t thank them enough, and I’ll always be part of the Toyota family.”
Second Le Mans victory helps Conway make decision
Le Mans remained one of the defining challenges of Conway’s Toyota career. The #7 crew repeatedly came close to victory before Conway, Kobayashi and José María López finally claimed their first overall win in 2021 after several years of near misses.
That success carried particular significance after multiple second-place finishes and repeated frustration at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Conway then returned to the top step in 2026 alongside Kobayashi and de Vries, with Toyota overcoming a difficult starting position to win a fiercely contested 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The second victory ultimately helped convince Conway that he had reached the right point to bring his full-time career to a close.
“Deciding to step back from full-time racing wasn’t easy, but after winning Le Mans for a second time this year, it felt like the right moment to close this chapter and focus on my family.”
He added: “To bow out with two Le Mans wins, two world titles and as the most successful British driver in the championship’s history is something of which I’m incredibly proud – not just for myself, but for my family, my friends and everyone who has stood behind me throughout my career.”
For Conway, the decision also reflects a sense that little remains unfulfilled after more than two decades in professional motorsport.
“There have been tough moments along the way, but the support I’ve had over the years always kept me going. In the end, I achieved everything I could ever have dreamed of.”
One final WEC title fight remains
Despite announcing the end of his full-time career, Conway still has unfinished business in 2026. Together with Kobayashi and de Vries, he sits 10 points behind the championship lead with two rounds remaining.
The #7 Toyota crew came close to strengthening its position at Circuit of The Americas before a late hydraulic pressure problem denied them what had appeared to be a likely victory. De Vries retired with approximately 10 minutes remaining during the Lone Star Le Mans after Toyota’s late heartbreak, allowing Ferrari to inherit the win.
That retirement proved particularly costly because Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries had entered the weekend level at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Their title challenge nevertheless remains alive, ensuring Conway’s final weeks as a full-time professional driver will carry genuine sporting significance.
A world championship in his final campaign would provide an extraordinary conclusion to a career already defined by endurance racing success, although Conway’s decision does not depend on how the remaining two rounds unfold.
Kobayashi pays tribute to long-time team-mate
Few drivers have shared more of Conway’s Toyota career than Kobayashi. The pair have competed together for years in the #7 car and shared both triumph and repeated disappointment at Le Mans before eventually winning the race together twice.
Kobayashi, who also serves as Toyota’s Team Principal, praised Conway’s contribution both inside and outside the cockpit.
“It has been a pleasure to race the #7 car with Mike for so many years. We’ve shared so many emotional moments, particularly at Le Mans, and some of my most incredible memories in racing have come alongside Mike.”
Kobayashi also highlighted the qualities that made Conway such an important member of the team throughout its most successful WEC era.
“He has been an incredible team-mate, not only in terms of speed and consistency, but on a human level as well. He has become a friend to many of us in the team and we will miss having him around, but nothing lasts forever in motorsport and we all want to wish Mike a deserved, and very happy, retirement with his family.”
Family becomes Conway’s priority
Conway made clear that family played an important role in his decision. In his full retirement message, he reflected on the sacrifices and support that had accompanied his career from his earliest karting days and explained that he now wants to spend more time away from the demands of a full-time international racing programme.
He paid particular tribute to his father, as well as his mother, siblings, wife and young daughter, while also thanking long-time manager Mark Blundell and the many team-mates, mechanics, engineers and Toyota personnel who contributed to his career.
“My little one now is three-and-a-half, and I want to be there to see her grow up, that’s definitely part of it. My wife as well, for her support.”
Conway ultimately traced the story back to where it began, contrasting his earliest days at Rye House with the success he eventually achieved on motorsport’s biggest endurance racing stage.
“From the first moment of racing at Rye House, stepping into a kart, to stepping on the top step of the podium at Le Mans, and all the people in between, a big thank you for the journey. You’ve all played a part along the way, and thank you for that.”
Conway will now attempt to add one final major achievement before his full-time career concludes at Monza in November. Regardless of the outcome of the title fight, he will leave professional motorsport with two Le Mans victories, two world championships, 20 top-class WEC wins with Toyota and a career spanning successful chapters in single-seaters, IndyCar and endurance racing.
