Motorsport | Touring Car Driver of the Year: Vote Now

[Paul Jeffrey]

The touring car season have concluded for the year, with some great champions, outstanding rookies and fan favourites enjoying enviable performances across the world - but who do you think did the best job of all?

It could be argued that the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, FIA WTCR by Oscaro, the Kwikfit British Touring Car Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series are the four premier tin top categories in the world - but who do the RaceDepartment community think did the best job across the season?

Four-time BTCC champion, double DTM series winner, twice Supercars Series victor or debut World Championship in the WTCR - the top of all four categories have seen some incredible performances this year, and the supporting cast have been spectacular too!

Vote in the poll and comment below for who you think deserves the award of 2019 RaceDepartment 'Touring Car Driver of the Year' !

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

I love touring car racing! This year has been outstanding, pretty much across the board. WTCR Australia is looking pretty tasty in 2020 too.. looking forward to keeping an eye in that as it develops and grows. Hopeful Ingall can put a full season package together for it, old but still gold...

 

[Deleted member 387850]

It's got to be Colin Turkington for me! Once again he drove a very smart championship campaign, consistently bagging points and avoiding retirements. He has also shown this year that when the gloves need to come off he is still one of the quickest drivers on the grid. He is always clean and fair, a true gentleman on and off the track!

I think the final round at Brands Hatch really summed him up as a driver. After the incident with Matt Neal many drivers would have let it get to them and fallen apart in the final race. Colin kept his cool, put in a stunning performance and ultimately put himself in a position to pressure Dan Cammish and capitalise from his misfortune.

A deserved champion in one of the most competive series!

 

[MarcG]

How are Coulthard & Mostert in this list!? The former is hated by many for his Bathurst shenanigans, the latter continuously took out his team mate all season including the disastrous one at Bathurst!

Even McLaughlin had an easy ride with the parity crap we've had to deal with this year, for sure he's a great driver and deserves to be in this list but he was better last season when on more of an even par with the rest...dont tell the Holden fans i said that!

Edit: actually Scottys Bathurst win is under a cloud for the engine change fiasco, worst season for Supercars I've witnessed overall since i started watching religiously in 2005, fingers crossed for better next year.

 

[Timo One]

Hard not to vote for Colin but I have to give it Scott for a completely dominant year

 

[T04STY]

Had to vote for Rene. Such a preview of domination, not just this year but the last three years. If he hadn't had the two or three retirements in the lead due to technical issues he probably would've won by about 100 points infront of second. And that is in a series where half a second down in quali on first place usually puts you at the back of the field.

 

[Michel Bélisle]

Just out of national pride, I would have voted for Bruno Spengler (DTM) but he was not there. I voted for Thed Bjork instead.

 

[j_troc_71]

Classifying DTM as touring cars is technically correct. Its literally in the name of the series, but man DTM cars just don't fall into my imagined classification of touring cars. Same for Supercars. I always think of touring cars as cars that are much closer to the production version of the car. I don't think DTM cars share a single part with their production car counterparts. ((steps off soapbox)). As I said classifying them as touring cars is correct, but to me touring cars are BTCC, WTCR etc.
So while Rene Rast had the best season of anyone on that list, I voted Andrew Jordan.

 

[Deleted member 205301]

...well, as it sayed before, DTM is not TC !!!! (Aussie V8 none)
..I voted Yvan Muller, not that I particularly like him, but 2 reasons :
.1. I'm french, so, I have to support him
.2. He did a nice job (as usual), and some dreamt about an astonish finish in championnship, when He beated everybody in Macau...
@+++===+++
PS : In fact, to be honest, Kristoffersson should probably be the "TC driver of the year", for an amazing drive all the season, but He's not champion, and he's not enough famous...

 

[SellerieMitDip]

Had to go for René Rast here as it's my compatriot but it could've easily been Scott McLaughlin as well. Both absolutely dominated the field this year. Incredible performance by the two.

 

[Dobermann92]

As I only followed 2 of the 4 series (DTM and WTCR), and one was won by a fellow countryman I choose Norbert Michelisz.

 

[FeltHat]

Forza Norbert

 

[Timo One]

...well, as it sayed before, DTM is not TC !!!! (Aussie V8 none)
..I voted Yvan Muller, not that I particularly like him, but 2 reasons :
.1. I'm french, so, I have to support him
.2. He did a nice job (as usual), and some dreamt about an astonish finish in championnship, when He beated everybody in Macau...
@+++===+++
PS : In fact, to be honest, Kristoffersson should probably be the "TC driver of the year", for an amazing drive all the season, but He's not champion, and he's not enough famous...

He is "not enough famous" what the FIA world Rally cross champion hmm not so sure about that. I guess it depends on what you follow. Agreed not as famous as Yvan. Norbert is difficult to ignore either, 11 years of trying and gets it. Good man.

 

[Michel Bélisle]

...well, as it sayed before, DTM is not TC !!!! (Aussie V8 none)
..I voted Yvan Muller, not that I particularly like him, but 2 reasons :
.1. I'm french, so, I have to support him
.2. He did a nice job (as usual), and some dreamt about an astonish finish in championnship, when He beated everybody in Macau...
@+++===+++
PS : In fact, to be honest, Kristoffersson should probably be the "TC driver of the year", for an amazing drive all the season, but He's not champion, and he's not enough famous...

In R3E, the AI version of Yann Muller is fast and has the demeanour of a rugby player. I don't like racing the AI version of him!

 

[cangrejin]

you disappoint me RD ...
Turismo Nacional ARG.... Moriartis y Urcera ...etc...
It is the closest thing to the Roman Colosseum. According to many who see it every year, it is the best and most competitive category of car tourism. I'm not kidding ... almost all races are like Brazil 2019 F1, like the last lap, BUT IN ALL THE LAPS ...
if you don't watch the last race (defined the championship )

(LAPS 1-4 AND 18-22 golden laps)

 

[DonZmeuheu]

Of course Rene the Rastaman Rast. He is a beast behind the steering wheel

 

[Stuntman Daz]

Turkington probably deserves it but I voted Cammish for trying to get us a BTCC game. Good lad.

 

[MJP1979]

How are Coulthard & Mostert in this list!? The former is hated by many for his Bathurst shenanigans, the latter continuously took out his team mate all season including the disastrous one at Bathurst!

Even McLaughlin had an easy ride with the parity crap we've had to deal with this year, for sure he's a great driver and deserves to be in this list but he was better last season when on more of an even par with the rest...dont tell the Holden fans i said that!

Edit: actually Scottys Bathurst win is under a cloud for the engine change fiasco, worst season for Supercars I've witnessed overall since i started watching religiously in 2005, fingers crossed for better next year.

I voted Scotty and I'm a legacy Holden man. I say "legacy" because those cars aren't Commodores, they're Opel's and ugly as sin.

He consistently/easily beat out his Team mate and was pulling crazy hot laps during qualifying that were right on the edge. There's a reason Penske is likely taking him overseas in '21, he's on another level to the rest of the field. Richmond's sports psych deserves some of the credit though, she's matured him as a athlete, he's ice cold behind the wheel now.

 

[Durge Driven]

GT3 and SGT Jenson deserves to be in that list considering some that are have done nothing notable this year

 

[wombat999]

McLaughlin was the best of the Ford runners and the quickest of the rest, so he gets my vote, and I generally follow Triple8! Don't blame Coulthard for the Bathurst fiasco, that was a typical DJR cock up.
And I've followed the ATC since I was a very small boy.........sadly the so-called 'Supercar' series is becoming NASCAR Down Under.
Craig Lowndes should have been listed as even only running as a 'co-driver' he made most of the field look average.
Unfortunately we don't get decent coverage of the BTCC or WTCR except on Foxtel and that's not going to change.