might be the end of my IndyCar career to be honest, but it’s worked out perfectly,” he says. “There’s not many teams that could do that, so I’m very fortunate to be in one that can.
“Last year I really felt like I was enjoying my racing again. That’s what it’s all about and I’d kind of forgotten it a little bit. Sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself and if things aren’t going right, it can be hard to lift yourself back up and go at it again the next weekend. That’s why with the ovals it was time to call it a day because I really wasn’t enjoying racing at all, let alone just the oval stuff.”
Conway will tell you that if there was
ever a time to sample sportscars, it is most definitely the present. The formation of a World Championship in 2012 for the first time since 1992, the return of Porsche to top-line endurance racing and the arrival of Mark Webber has introduced new audiences to the world beyond Formula One, with more growth expected in the coming years.
But despite the obvious differences between Le Mans and IndyCar, Conway points out that his experience of the former has made him a better all-round racer. His patient approach certainly paid dividends at Long Beach, biding his time and eventually forcing reigning champion Scott Dixon to abandon his fuel-saving run and relinquish the lead with just three laps remaining.
“It’s a really cool style of racing, I’m surprised I didn’t look at it earlier really, you’re so focused on single-seaters and trying to get to F1,” Conway says of sportscars. “There’s some real longevity here. You’ve got more manufacturers coming in and it’s looking really competitive; this year especially it seems like the level is that bit higher and it looks like more will come in the future.
“I learned a lot last year with the LMP2 racing I did, and I think that’s transferred a lot towards the other racing I’ve done. Le Mans is so different, it’s a great challenge for a racing driver to get to grips with as it’s not just about you in the car; you have to look after it for your team-mates and really look after the tyres. As well you’ve got to be so good in traffic; you’re trying to pass GTs and other P2 cars but at the same time you’re looking in your mirrors for the P1s, which really sharpens you up for anything else you get into afterwards.
“The first stint I did was at night in qualifying, it was tough!’ All your reference points have gone and you’ve got to re-learn everything. Then when the night is over and the light comes up, the track gets quick, more rubber is going down, there’s a constant evolution of the track, you come away from that place feeling like you’ve learned so much.”
After experiencing the intense pressure of the Month of May in the lead up to the Indianapolis 500, you might have expected Conway to be unfazed when he made his debut at La Sarthe last year. But as he admits, that was far from the case.
Credit: Mike Conway