Two-time Le Mans winner and two-time FIA World Endurance Drivers' Champion to bow out at the end of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season as the most successful British driver in FIA WEC history, with both the 2026 Drivers' and Manufacturers' World Championships still to fight for.
Mike Conway has today announced that he will retire from full-time competition at the end of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season, drawing the curtain on a remarkable career that has taken him from a kart track in Hertfordshire to the very top of world endurance racing.
Mike Conway has today announced that he will retire from full-time competition at the end of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season. It brings the curtain down on a remarkable career that has taken him from a kart track in Hertfordshire to the very top of world endurance racing.
In the FIA World Endurance Championship, he stands as the most successful British driver in the series' history. His record there includes two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two World Championship titles, 20 top-class race wins and 46 top-class podiums, and he has played a central role in Toyota's seven FIA World Endurance Manufacturers' Championship titles since joining the team in 2014.
Conway bows out at the end of the season as one of the most accomplished British drivers of his generation, after a career spanning more than thirty years that has yielded 52 race victories, 126 podiums and five championship titles.
Conway's final races this season are far from a farewell lap. He remains firmly in contention for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Drivers' World Championship and, alongside his Toyota teammates, is also fighting for the Manufacturers' World Championship - giving him the chance to sign off with a third Drivers’ World Championship title.
In Mike's words
"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.
"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.
"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.
"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 I'm incredibly proud of. Not just for myself, but for my family, my friends and everyone who has stood behind me throughout my career.
"I owe so much to so many people. 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.
"Motorsport has been my world for more than thirty years, and I've been lucky to meet so many incredible people, teammates and team members along the way. 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. 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.
"Now it's time for me to step away and enjoy life with my family away from the race track. To everyone who has supported me, from the very first day at Rye House to the top step at Le Mans: thank you so much."
From Rye House to the world stage
Conway's story began at just eight years old, when his father took him to Rye House in Hertfordshire. It was the spark for a lifelong passion, and he quickly established himself as one of the country's brightest young talents, claiming the British Formula A Karting Championship.
The step into single-seaters brought immediate success. Conway started his car racing career picking up podiums in the British Formula Ford Championship before taking the 2004 Formula Renault UK title, announcing himself as a driver destined for big things.
In 2005 he graduated to British Formula 3 with Fortec Motorsport, finishing third overall and leading the rookie standings. He returned in 2006 with Räikkönen Robertson Racing and delivered one of the most dominant campaigns the series had seen, wrapping up the title with three races still to run. That same season he conquered the streets of Macau, becoming the first British driver since 1999 to win the prestigious Macau Grand Prix, and was named McLaren Autosport BRDC National Driver of the Year.
GP2 followed, with a podium in 2007 and a landmark victory on the streets of Monaco in 2008, while his talent also earned him a test driver role with the Honda Racing F1 Team.
A new chapter in America
Conway then took his career across the Atlantic to IndyCar, where his natural speed on street circuits quickly shone through. His American adventure also brought the toughest moments of his career. A heavy airborne accident at the 2010 Indianapolis 500 left him with serious injuries and sidelined him for the rest of the season. His recovery and return showed the resilience that would define his career, and in 2011 he claimed a stunning maiden IndyCar victory at Long Beach.
A further crash at Indianapolis in 2012 prompted a defining decision. Later that season, Conway chose to step away from oval racing, a brave call made on his own terms at a time when few drivers spoke openly about such choices. Focusing on road and street circuits, he went on to add further wins at Long Beach, Detroit and Toronto, before turning his attention fully to sportscar endurance racing, the next chapter of his career.
Endurance greatness with Toyota
The move into sportscar racing would define Conway's career. Welcomed into the Toyota family in 2014, he became a cornerstone of one of the most successful programmes in endurance racing history, helping the team to seven World Manufacturers' Championship titles.
Race wins across the globe established Conway as one of the fastest and most dependable drivers in the field. In 2019-20 he claimed his first FIA World Endurance Championship title alongside Kamui Kobayashi and José María López, and the trio defended their crown in 2021 to make Conway a double world champion.
Le Mans, however, would test him like nothing else. For years the great race seemed determined to deny him, but each setback only strengthened his resolve. In 2021, the wait finally ended as Conway, Kobayashi and López crossed the line to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a victory made all the sweeter by everything that had come before. Five years later, in 2026, he returned to the top step to claim a second Le Mans win, the perfect crowning moment of his time with Toyota.
Those achievements have secured his place in the record books as the most successful British driver the FIA World Endurance Championship has ever seen.
Conway's full-time racing career will conclude at the final round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Monza, on 8 November. He will head there still in the hunt for both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' World Championships.
