Toyota driver Conway withdraws from Le Mans after bicycle accident

Toyota Gazoo Racing driver Mike Conway had to withdraw from the 24 Hours of Le Mans at short notice after suffering broken ribs and a collarbone in a bicycle accident on Thursday.

The two-time FIA ​​World Endurance Championship drivers’ champion and 2021 Le Mans overall winner will be replaced for the race by his long-time teammate José María López, who was called up at short notice. The Argentine’s driving duties will begin on Sunday when he takes part in the test day, sharing the No. 7 with Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries.

Lopez was originally scheduled to compete with AKKODIS ASP in the No. 87 Lexus RCF LMGT3 after stepping down from his full-time FIA ​​WEC Hypercar seat with the Japanese marque at the end of the 2023 season. His move to LMGT3 with sister brand Lexus paved the way for de Vries to join the Toyota team after his exit from Formula 1.

“Toyota Gazoo Racing shares Mike’s deep disappointment about this situation and will continue to actively support him on his way back to full fitness. All team members are looking forward to seeing Mike – part of the team family since 2014 – back in the cockpit as soon as possible,” the team said in a statement.

It is not yet clear who will replace López at AKKODIS ASP. It is the second race in a row where the French team has had to change its line-up at the last minute, as last time out at Spa its No. 78 team of Clemens Schmid and Ritomo Miyata competed alongside full-time driver Arnold Robin after Kelvin van der Linde was called up to Formula E and Timur Boguslavskiy fell ill.

For Sunday’s test day, Miyata – the team’s nominated reserve driver – was on the entry list for both Toyota Hypercars. With López’s appointment, the Japanese racing driver is likely to focus on the LMP2 class with COOL Racing.