INDIANAPOLIS (9 September 2022) – Irish Mike Racing’s Conor Flynn improved three positions in Sunday’s Round 8 of the IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America presented by Visit Cayman Islands, while his teammate Craig Conway posted a pair of top-10 finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Porsche Sports Car Together Fest this weekend.
Flynn finished 12th in the Porsche Pro class and 18th overall in Sunday’s 40-minute race, driving the No. 95 FlynnCo Cars/ Chillout Systems Porsche 992. On Saturday, he was 15th in class while finishing 20th overall.
Driving the No. 97 Diamond Suzuki Porsche 992 in the Pro-Am class, Conway took 10th in class and 29th overall in both races.
“Indy went OK, we made progress in every session,” Conway said. “I was making up time in every session, so we’re closer to getting it in the park where we’re messing with some other cars. We’ve got work to do, but we’re definitely getting there. We’re not that far off now.”
This season has been a major learning curve for both team and drivers, switching to the newer Porsche 992 after campaigning the 991 a year ago.
“I’ve never had a car that was this difficult to learn before,” said Conway, a veteran of IMSA and Grand-Am competition. “It’s a matter of hanging with these cars. I guess it’s old dogs, new tricks!”
Qualifying 23rd, Flynn passed six cars on the opening lap of Saturday’s race, getting up to 13th position in Porsche Pro. While he dropped two positions during the course of the race, he managed to beat NASCAR superstar Jeff Gordon by one position in class.
“I was focused on moving forward all race long and even though passing was tough in some places, we were able to at least keep improving our lap times and continue learning about how the tire goes through its run,” said Flynn. “It was great that Gordon was in the race to add to the attention but I have to admit even though I’ve followed him since I was very young…he was just another car out there today!”
On Sunday, Flynn was gridded 16th in class and 24th overall – one position behind Gordon. He managed to gain four positions over the 40-minute race, but finished one position in class behind the NASCAR superstar.
Conway was pleased with his progress during the weekend.
“I had good races,” he said. “I got six or seven cars at the start – I was pushing myself way up there. I just didn’t have the raw speed to keep them behind me, but it was good fun passing them!”
Only one weekend remains in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America season, with a pair of races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Sept. 29-30 during the Motul Petit Le Mans weekend.
“We’ve made progress every single weekend,” Conway said. “We started way off, and now we’re only a few tenths off from where we want to be. We’re getting there – it’s a work in progress.”
