Well, they didn’t hang about, did they? Venturi has only just announced the shock departure of motorsport legend Jacques Villeneuve from its team, but has now announced that another Brit will be entering the sort in his place: Mike Conway.
But who exactly is he? Venturi has released the following info about the new kid on the block:
NAME: Mike Conway
DATE OF BIRTH: 19th August 1983
RESIDENCE: Sevenoaks, Kent
HEIGHT: 173 cm
WEIGHT: 64 kg
INTERESTS: Mountain or Road Biking, fitness and anything with an engine!
International racing driver Mike Conway has several championships under his belt. The talented 30-year-old returned to the UK last year to compete full-time in the World Endurance Series as well as select IndyCar races in the US and Canada.
Entering his first season in WEC, Conway made a seamless transition to sports car racing. The team secured an LMP2 front row start in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour race and finished the season third after securing four wins.
Conway also remained a threat in the IndyCar Series despite a full time ride. With just seven starts in 2013, he earned a victory, two podiums and five top-10 finishes as well as achieving his first IndyCar career pole.
With his tremendous talent on street courses so apparent, Conway has signed an IndyCar deal with Ed Carpenter Racing to compete on all road/street courses for the 2014 season. He has also joined TOYOTA Racing for their LMP1 WEC program as reserve and test driver.
2014 turned out to be one of Conway’s most successful season’s to date, as he became the first person to win at least one race in both IndyCar and WEC. Conway impressed for Ed Carpenter Racing when driving at the road/street circuit events, winning at both Long Beach and Toronto. He backed this up with three impressive drives for TOYOTA in the WEC, helping the #7 car win the 6 Hours of Bahrain.
He certainly has the experience and working with the Hybrid Toyota cars may find the transition into the electric power-train a little easier. Hopefully we will catch up with Conway before he takes his seat in BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA on the 6th February.
