Mike Conway

[BobGarage]

confirmed at Dreyer & Reinbold.

Competed in Gp2 last few season and took a win at Monaco and has worked as Honda Test driver.

Also, if memory serves me correctly... he is managed by Mark Blundell's MB2 management company.

[Nikki Katz]

Well he's better than Duno! Would be nice if they could field a second car.

Conway's win was in the sprint race. He finished 8th in the feature race the previous day which gave him pole for the one he won. He was a good midfield driver in the series, a bit like Viso a few years ago.

[Nikki Katz]

Hmm, Autosport are reporting at if there is a second car (there should be) then it'll most likely be Duno, seemingly for the whole season. They might as well not bother really.

[Easy Drifter]

Duno must be in the series! We need her for the "Stompin Danica" to yell and scream at! :D

[SoCalPVguy]

Never heard of him.

Must have sponsorship money.

[cos]

Never heard of him.

Must have sponsorship money.

British F3 champ and Macau GP winner a couple of years back. He was a Honda F1 test driver so maybe those connections helped?

[SoCalPVguy]

How does a "Mike Conway" help to advance the IRL in any way ? I submit that it does not and in fact hurts it by bringing in more " no name" foreign drivers.

[DanicaFan]

As for the Dreyer & Reinbold, what are they thinking ???http://www.ptalkforum.com/images/smilies/icon_confused2.gif

Mike Conway who ?? I see nothing but a field filler and a backmarker with this guy. There are better drivers out there to pick up with more experience. And if I was Buddy or Townsend, I would leave the organization too, and they still considered Milka for the 2nd car, who is horrible, and signed another driver out of the organization ahead of me,I would be gone. It's an insult to them I feel.

[Chamoo]

How does a "Mike Conway" help to advance the IRL in any way ? I submit that it does not and in fact hurts it by bringing in more " no name" foreign drivers.

He must had brought money with him, or Honda provided him with some money to get a drive.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

How does a "Mike Conway" help to advance the IRL in any way ? I submit that it does not and in fact hurts it by bringing in more " no name" foreign drivers.

The goal of Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is not to advance the IRL, it is to compete in races and get the best possible result. In order to be able to that they must secure sponsorship. In today's economic climate a backmarket team can only do that by finding drivers who has money to bring to the table. I suspect Mike Conway has secured some money from Honda. By signing him, D&R does not only get funding but also a fairly competent driver who was British F3 champion and won the Macau Grand Prix even though he wasn't very impressive in GP2.

[Andrewmcm]

Yeah, it's The IRL management's job to advance the IRL. The teams will put the drivers that they can afford to run into the cars.

[BobGarage]

How does a "Mike Conway" help to advance the IRL in any way ? I submit that it does not and in fact hurts it by bringing in more " no name" foreign drivers.

so how would bringing a no name american driver who brings no money be better for the series than a no name European driver who does bring money?

[Oli_M]

so how would bringing a no name american driver who brings no money be better for the series than a no name European driver who does bring money?

+1 !!

There are also a number of people who rate Conway pretty highly - so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I think he will do pretty well, realistically in his first year it will be difficult but there is a chance he can upset some of the more 'established' drivers.

Plus, this *may* encourage more European attention to the series, and surely that's a good thing for Indycar..... isn't it?

[DanicaFan]

I welcome more drivers. He will be just another guy for Danica to finish ahead of. :D

[acescribe]

+1 !!


Plus, this *may* encourage more European attention to the series, and surely that's a good thing for Indycar..... isn't it?

Conway isnt a bad driver and wont do any worse than the previous incumbants have in the car.

The British press are only interested in F1 and would only take notice if Lewis Hamilton jumped across or maybe, just maybe Anthony Davidson.

Dan Who? And the only time we read Dario's name is when the top "British" sports earners lists are published..

[MDS]

While Mike Conway isn't the choice many fans would prefer, very likely his buying a ride is adding another car to the field that wouldn't be there.

The question isn't would you rather see Buddy Rice, Franck Perrera, or Townsend Bell in the seat full time, rather would you rather have Mike Conway, or one less car in the field, because that's probably the choice D&RR had to make.

[anthonyvop]

+1 !!

There are also a number of people who rate Conway pretty highly - so it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I think he will do pretty well, realistically in his first year it will be difficult but there is a chance he can upset some of the more 'established' drivers.

Plus, this *may* encourage more European attention to the series, and surely that's a good thing for Indycar..... isn't it?
Who rates him highly? His parents?
The man finished 14th and 12th in points over the past 2 GP2 seasons....A spec series.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

He also couldn't get any luck at all. Anyone who actually watched GP2 over the last two years could tell you that. His Monaco win was well deserved, as he was on course for a podium in the feature race when he was taken out by a backmarker. But he still finished 8th, and thus got the pole (and later the win) in the sprint race the next day.

Conway's good enough. British F3 & Macau winner perhaps does not say a lot to the average American, but it's quite a feat. As far as pay drivers go (which is why Conway has the ride), he's got to be among the best out there. The economy is what it is. Considering that D&R needed a funded shoe in the car to keep it running, they've done extraordinarly well.

[NickFalzone]

The question isn't would you rather see Buddy Rice, Franck Perrera, or Townsend Bell in the seat full time, rather would you rather have Mike Conway, or one less car in the field, because that's probably the choice D&RR had to make.

That's exactly it. While I'd definitely like to see Rice and Townsend get decent equipment and the road/street podiums they deserve, a team like D&R is just doing what it has to do. I don't know much about Conway, but it sounds like he's at least a respectable driver. More than I can say for others on D&R. I still think we'll be seeing Rice in a few rounds with D&R this season.

For me, the Mutoh/AGR deal is worse as a team like that should not be simply going for big paydays. I know they're very close with Honda and Mutoh has shown some talent, but that was an even lesser choice than Danica for 2007.

[SarahFan]

it's another car on the grid....

[Chamoo]

And I think now that it seems we will have more then Honda on the grid in the coming years, look for Honda to place some drivers on teams they want to keep with them in the coming years.

[SoCalPVguy]

While Mike Conway isn't the choice many fans would prefer, very likely his buying a ride is adding another car to the field that wouldn't be there.

Agreed. But please excuse me for not being too excited about this announcement.

[mlittle]

it's another car on the grid....

Agreed.....Conway might not be the best driver to come over to North American open-wheel racing from Europe, but would those who disagree with DRR's decision to sign him prefer that he stay in Europe?

The team's decision is good on two basic counts.........
(1)since Conway is bringing cash & by all accounts, sponsorship(what sponsorship that is remains to be seen), this helps DRR in that they(the team) doesn't have to spend money searching for sponsors....not the best solution, but with the economic situation the way it is, if teams see an opportunity to pick up a decent driver w/cash & sponsors, why shouldn't they take it?
(2)it helps the series by keeping one car that might or might not be on the grid in 2009(IIRC, DRR ran two cars.....1 with Buddy Rice and 1 with Milka Duno/Townsend Bell)....by signing Conway, they ensure that at least one of their cars will answer the bell in 2009(if they're smart, they'll sign Rice for the other car.......)


Now, do I think Conway was the right choice for DRR? That remains to be seen; if he gets the hang of the ovals, he could do reasonably well....and with the unpredictability inherent in road/street course races, who knows? Let's hold off judgment on whether it was a good decision until there's a couple of races in the books........

[Jimmy Magnusson]

I'm sure they'd love to have Rice, but again there's that money issue.