Why Conway's talent will be missed at Toyota

In some ways, Conway has been Toyota's biggest asset over the last 13 years

Last week Toyota lost one of its greatest talents. Mike Conway has always been a driver that’s flown under the radar.

He very rarely has been a driver grabbing all of the headlines or trying to get the spotlight aimed on to him.

In many ways you could almost argue that he’s an anonymous driver. That however would be a major disservice to Conway.

He’s incredibly fast, very methodical and a real thinker. He’s not one to shout about what he’s feeling. Instead, he does his talking on the track.

And when you look at the results he and his team-mates have picked up along the way for Toyota, you can see why the Japanese manufacturer kept him in its stable for so long.

All but one of Conway’s seasons in the World Endurance Championship was contested with Toyota. He excelled on his debut in 2013, racing the G-Drive Racing LMP2, where alongside Roman Rusinov and John Martin, Conway collected four victories.

After that impressive debut season in the WEC Conway joined Toyota on a part-time basis for 2014. But that soon became full-time after Toyota saw what the British driver possessed. And for 12 further seasons he was a staple of the Japanese team’s line-up.

During that time with Toyota Conway picked up two world championships, two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 18 further race wins.

That’s a hugely impressive feat by anyone’s standards.

During the WEC era, only two drivers have more race wins than he does, and that’s Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley who drive the sister car.

That’s just how good Conway is.

And there's no denying his talent will be missed at Toyota. His ability to jump in and get the job done fully aligns with the way the Japanese team likes to operate.

There's no fuss, no drama. He just got the job done and nearly always made the most of the machinery he had available to him.

And that approach is partly why the Toyota management loved him so much.

When people sit and think about who the best driver has been in the WEC, many will perhaps overlook Conway. But that will only really be because he’s always been a reserved individual who shies away from the spotlight and cameras as much as possible.

If he was someone who was more comfortable doing all of the media work, then perhaps people might look at him in the same light as your Buemis or Estres or Lotterers. And he should be viewed in the same way.

With that in mind, it was so unfortunate that he bowed out of the championship in such an anonymous fashion.

The Toyotas were nowhere at Monza, confined to the back of the Hypercar field. And it meant Conway was robbed of the chance to stand on the WEC podium for one last time.

That really is a crying shame. Of course, it’s not anything anyone can control, but he deserved to have the greatest send off.

He’s been a great servant to Toyota, one of the most loyal drivers on the grid, and he’s repaid that faith with so much success.

As such, Conway deserved to be on the rostrum at the end, to be celebrated not only by his team, but also by the fans.

Some might consider Conway an underrated driver, who flew by under the radar. But he didn’t miss ours. We appreciate just how good a driver he is, and how much he has contributed to the WEC.

Farewell Mr Conway. Your retirement is well earnt, and you really will be missed when the racing resumes next season.