Toyota Hypercar driver Conway out of WEC Austin round

Toyota driver Mike Conway will miss this weekend’s Austin round of the World Endurance Championship with a shoulder injury and will be replaced by Jose Maria Lopez. 

Conway injured his collarbone last week in what was described by Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe as a “training incident”. 

Lopez will stand in for the Briton in the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries for the Lone Star Le Mans 6-hour race on 7 September.

This also happened at the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours when Conway sustained injuries to his shoulder and ribs in a cycling accident. 

TGR has not named a reserve or test driver for this season, but it confirmed that Lopez would be on standby at Le Mans: he tested a GR010 at Paul Ricard over the winter in order for him to stay current with the car. 

Lopez moves over from the Auto Sport Promotion LMGT3 squad, which represents Toyota sister brand Lexus in the WEC. 

No further details of Conway’s injuries have been released, nor a prognosis on whether he is likely to be fit in time to take part in Toyota’s home race at Fuji on 28 September. 

Kobayashi, who is also team principal of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe WEC squad, said:  “Of course, we are all disappointed that Mike cannot join us in #7, but Jose has proved he is a very capable substitute. 

“As well as wishing Mike a quick recovery, I would like to say a big thanks to AKKODIS ASP for their support in allowing Jose to step in.”

Lopez, who was a full-time member of Toyota’s WEC line-up in 2017-23, said: “I’m sad for Mike, who is a great friend, and I know he is so disappointed that he cannot race in Austin. 

“It’s an unexpected opportunity for me to work with everyone in the team again, and I am sure it will be just like old times very quickly.”

Expected high temperatures and the demands of the anti-clockwise 3.43-mile Circuit of the Americas explain why Toyota has brought in Lopez rather than running just two drivers. 

Jose Maria Lopez, Akkodis ASP

Photo by: AKKA-ASP

Sebastien Buemi was allowed by Toyota to miss the Sao Paolo WEC round last month in order to compete in the Berlin Formula E event and wasn’t replaced alongside Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa in the #8 GR010. 

Porsche is returning to a three-driver line-up for the North American round of the WEC as planned for the same reasons.

IMSA SportsCar Championship regulars Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell have been recalled to the respective cockpits of the #5 and #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 LMDhs.