Conway: RAFA’s Multi-Series Effort a “Good Advantage”

Photo: RAFA Racing Team

With a massive expansion, new entries in multiple series, and the challenge of finding a performance edge while running on two different brands of tire, RAFA Racing Team boss Kevin Conway knew he had a huge mountain to climb in 2025.

But so far after the opening rounds of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, and Pirelli GT4 America, the rate of ascension up that mountain has been incredibly swift.

While the performance with the team’s fleet of Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 machines has been impressive, it looks even more remarkable when you consider the team is also running a multi-car Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America program as well as assisting in the driver development of two of RAFA Racing Team’s young female drivers competing in Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin championship.

“It’s been an incredible start to the year,” Conway said.

“It has certainly surpassed our expectations. Our goal is always to win races and run up front. We have a lot of experience with the Toyota GR Supra platform, having raced that car since its inception, but this is the first year with the EVO2 variant of that car.

“Running it in Michelin Pilot Challenge, VP Challenge, and GT4 America has been a good advantage for us to get more time with the car and have the engineering team understand the nuances of the EVO2 package.

“Even though we race on two very different tires between IMSA and SRO, there’s still a lot that translates. We can help our drivers develop even quicker with our knowledge of this platform and some of the nuances of that particular car.

“But to already have six wins this season is incredible.”

The team’s VP Racing SportsCar Challenge squad has been the team to watch, winning every race across two race weekends so far this season – three wins for Kiko Porto and one for Ian Porter.

But on the Lamborghini Super Trofeo squad, the signs of speed are already shining bright.

“We put all the cars in the top four in our first weekend,” Conway said.

“We know there’s still a lot more to come, but it’s been an enormous accomplishment to grow as much as we did.

“It’s a lot of new people, a lot of new drivers, and a lot of new faces on the team. But having the success that we’ve had is quite remarkable.”

So far in 2025, the team has already crossed the country with race events at Daytona, Sebring, St. Petersburg, Circuit of The Americas, and Sonoma in California – a schedule that presents a huge logistical challenge for Conway and the team.

“It’s always challenging when you have to integrate a lot of new people and really grow the program,” Conway said.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to run as many cars as we have. But it comes back to Rafa Martinez’s vision for the team and him giving us the tools and resources we need to execute well.

“Toyota Gazoo Racing North America has been a tremendous partner for us, as has Lamborghini Squadra Corse, with helping on the engineering side.

“We’re working to empower the team members to create that success. And we always keep pushing for more and wanting more. But as we integrate all of these new people from the front office all the way back to the competition side – it’s always challenging, but I’m very proud of the structure and the processes that we’ve had in place that has enabled that growth to happen.”

One of the biggest challenges for new team members is that the RAFA Racing Team isn’t your typical race team. How this team goes about racing is very different from what any team member has experienced.

“Maintaining our standard of excellence in what we expect from every one of our teams and drivers is a big challenge,” Conway said.

“The way that Rafa goes about racing is very different compared to many other race teams, but everyone is embracing that.

“Everybody is starting to understand the opportunities that we have as we get ready to launch the RAFA Performance Centre to make sure that the drivers have every tool available to them off the racetrack as well as on the racetrack to optimize themselves personally and professionally to extract their maximum performance.

“We have a broad swath of drivers, from people who are just taking their first steps as a professional racer to up-and-coming talent, talented pro racers, and newcomers who already have a massive profile but are taking their initial steps at this level.

“It’s undoubtedly the fulfillment of Rafa’s vision, and it’s been incredible that we have been able to plug that into our existing infrastructure to create the beginning of the new RAFA Racing Team.

While Conway has already enjoyed his share of life in the spotlight behind the wheel, the former NASCAR Rookie of the Year, two-time Super Trofeo North America champion, 2014 Super Trofeo World Champion and GT4 America title winner is riding a new wave of emotions as the team begins its championship assaults.

“Being on the management side is certainly a very different weekend experience than driving and certainly a lot more responsibility,” Conway said.

“I’m a couple of years into this new role, but I’m able to share my own experience as a driver with the racers on our team and even the crew members to help optimize them in terms of getting the maximum performance from them. That role is very rewarding.

“I always said when we built this team, we wanted to build the team that I always wanted to drive for. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to drive for some of the biggest and best teams, some of the worst teams, and everything in between.

“I’m now building all that knowledge into what we have.”

While Conway is no longer behind the wheel full-time, he did get to share some seat time with Rafa Martinez and Jim Jonsin in the three-hour opening round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at Daytona.

“I still miss being in the seat full-time. But I still get in occasionally when needed and when I can contribute,” Conway said.

“So it’s a lot of fun and certainly rewarding to play a part in the success of the new drivers as they’re learning and getting up to speed.”