exactly where they stand in terms of exploring the limits of the technology.
“I suppose you’re always trying to get gains” explains Mike. “Last year we were trying to maximise everything we could get out of the car and this year is the same. You’re always pushing all the time. When you’ve got three drivers in each car generally we’re all pushing the car in the same direction.”
During the final practice at Fuji on Saturday, Toyota looked as though their engine upgrade had eaten into some of the ground they’d lost to Audi earlier in the year. That was until both Audi and Porsche stepped things up again in qualifying. Despite the higher altitudes favouring Porsche, Conway believes the spike in performance relative to Toyota’s competitors was more of a perfect storm.
“I think it might have been down to fuel loads and having a good set of tyres on at the right time” he muses. ”At Fuji we had two real high speed corners at turn three
and then through four and five. The rest of the circuit is really slow speed, so you’re asking a lot from the rear all the time, so you have to have a good, solid rear. If you can’t quite get through the slow corners quick enough it just kills your lap time.”
We’ve always had a pretty good car in the wet, but the power deficit is still there” laments Conway. “That said it’s easy to make mistakes in the wet and it’s harder to overtake – especially when you’re on a drying track.”
Rain has also provided the Japanese marque with a few opportunities to upset the established order during the rudimentary stages of the 6 Hours of Fuji and Shanghai respectively, although precipitation has often come at tracks that favour a strong engine-package. It has been a case of the large print giving and the fine print taking away.
But with adversity comes experience, and Conway is revelling in his enduring role at Toyota, believing that he will be better prepared when performance eventually comes their way.
“I’m really enjoying having a full-time role here. It was always the ultimate aim after running a couple of races and test-driving with the team to get that race seat” beams Conway. “It happened to fall my way thanks to other circumstances, so I’m really enjoying it.
It’s also good to have the continuity with Alex (Wurz) and Stephane (Sarrazin) as team mates. I’ve really learnt a lot from them and we’re pushing each other all the time. Having a quick car on the other side of the garage is always a good gauge to have between us. It’s been pretty close most of the year really and it’s been getting closer. We’ve even been in front a few times in the last few races.”
Like Conway last year, Kazuki Nakajima has been an infrequent addition the number 1 car at various stages of the year. But does an addition hand require a major shift in strategy for a team used to running an asymmetric driver configuration?
“We kind of set the strategy before the weekend starts” explains Mike.” How we’re going to race each driver, who’s going to qualify etc… But then sometimes if you feel that you’re not quite as quick as the next driver in qualifying you might say ‘you’d better qualify’.
That’s happened a couple of times but it just depends how you feel really. But generally we just stick to the plan. I got to start in Nurburgring, which was the first time. There’s a lot more cars around you and you get more clean running [without traffic] at the beginning.”
But even when you’re not starting you’re always pushing. When you’re the second or third guy to jump in its hard when there’s people who’ve already been out there for a full stint. You’ve got to be straight on it. I’ve learnt a lot from the guys on how to be on the limit straight away, because if you don’t push hard enough on the out-lap you lose tyre temperature and a few more laps in you pick up more marbles which can affect the whole pace of your stint."
When I was in IndyCar you started on cold tyres which required confidence, but here requires a different confidence when the tyres are hot, you’ve got to be straight into it.”
There’s little doubt that Mike Conway has been ‘on it’ for most of his career and will be pushing to get back on terms with his contemporaries in 2016.