CONFESSION: I love ‘end of year’ rankings. I love what people within the industry think of the year that has been and I love the discussion it generates – positive or otherwise.
The problem is, the Kiwi motorsport fraternity has got it too good this year.
Between Scott McLaughlin, Scott Dixon, Brendan Hartley, Hayden Paddon, Mitch Evans, Simon Evans, Nick Cassidy, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris van der Drift, Fabian Coulthard, Earl Bamber, Will Bamber, Jaxon Evans and a host of others, it’s been a remarkable year for New Zealand talent on the world stage.
I’m leaving out Hunter McElrea there because we’re absolutely claiming him as an Aussie, by the way.
It also makes picking a ‘best of’ list basically impossible.
How to you compare Brendan Hartley’s efforts in a not-particularly-good Torro Rosso to the efforts of Nick Cassidy slaying them in Japan, for example?
The only two drivers I could lock in instantly were the Scott’s – McLaughlin and Dixon. If I tried to rank the others I’d still be here tapping away when the clock hits 12:00 on December 31.
So rather than subject you to 10,000 words of me rambling about the relative merits of comparing a WRC campaign against a WEC campaign, here’s some brief notes on performances that I think shone this year.
Lets start with Will Bamber. The younger brother of Le Mans winner Earl emerged from his brothers spotlight this year thanks to a highly competitive Porsche Carrera Cup Asia campaign. After struggling at the start of the season with a revolving door of engineers, the younger Bamber found some consistency in the second half of the season and showed off the regular contender that we all expected him to be.
His fighting drive in the remarkable season finale’ in Shanghai – which ended with he and Chris van der Drift coming to blows – proved he’s got the fight to go with the speed, too. One to watch next year.
Mitch Evans deserves more recognition for what he has achieved, however racing in Formula E isn’t the pathway to global stardom just yet.
We all know Mitch was good enough to get to Formula One but more often than not talent doesn’t lock you in to a seat in the premier category.
Still, the fact he is a paid racing driver for a factory driver should be a source of immense pride from the boy from Auckland’s Western suburbs. Jaguar rate him highly and his impressive drives through the field show his racecraft. If Jag can give him a car he can put on pole, then there’s a good chance they won’t see which way Mitch goes. With brother Simon also forging ahead with his driving, it’s a good time for the Evans’ clan indeed.
I wrote about both Chris van der Drift and Jaxon Evans (pictured) in previous columns, so my thoughts on their respective Carrera Cup seasons is well documented already. Still, winning in Carrera Cup is a tough ask, let alone in two of the most competitive one-make series around. Jaxon will be impressive in Supercup next year while Chris will be fast in whatever he chooses to race.
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A focus of this column throughout 2018 has been the Supercars championship, and that offered plenty of memorable moments.
Watching the reaction to Craig Lowndes’ returning to the top of the podium at Symmons Plains in April this year was special, proving that the best the series’ has possibly ever seen remained at the forefront. It was especially notable given the announcement that would follow at Townsville later in the year.
The reaction to Craig and Steven Richards winning Bathurst, then, was even more remarkable. It wasn’t the most memorable finish to the Bathurst classic, but it’s a race that those who saw it live will remember for years.
Nissan returning to the top step of the podium was also good for the sport, though the sense of ironic timing was well noted at the time given they had just confirmed that they would pull the pin on their factory support. Rick Kelly remains one of the sport’s best talents so to see him back on the top of the podium proved a good tale to tell.
The night race in Sydney was well documented and gave an indication that the format, or variations of it, would work moving forward. It’s unquestionably a blueprint for the future of Supercars racing as the sport tries to remain on-point against the ever-growing Football and Cricket codes in Australia.
The best race of the year was arguably race number five – the inadvertent twilight affair at Albert Park won so brilliantly by Scott Pye.
It was a remarkably tense affair in mixed conditions and failing light – not enough credit was given to race control for keeping it green when it was essentially pitch black at the end. It was Walkinshaw Andretti United’s only win of the season; but what a win it was.
Finally, of course, the pulsating Newcastle finale’ – coming off the back of the theatrics in New Zealand a fortnight earlier – was a perfect conclusion to a remarkable season.
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Looking forward, there’s plenty worth getting excited about.
The dominance of the Kiwi drivers in Supercars is unlikely to stop any time soon, for starters, and the Aussie’s in the series are beginning to understand what the Wallabies feel every time they play the All Blacks.
Supercars is not without its’ challenges – a reduction to 24 cars and questions over future regulations and schedules are notable talking points – but for the optimists amongst us there’s lots to like. Ford’s re-entry into the sport is enormous, as is the debut of the Mustang and the potential of a decade-long rivalry between Triple Eight and DJR Team Penske, a resurgent Tickford and the growing influence of the ‘Andrett’ and ‘United’ aspects of Walkinshaw’s team. All tasty stuff.
The potential for a return of true trans-Tasman racing by virtue of the new S5000 open-wheel category is potentially enormous while the debut of TCR in the region could be a pointer to how New Zealand’s top tin-top class could go moving forward.
Between those and many other things, it’s proof that our vibrant, exciting and competitive sport remains in pretty good shape as we roll over into another new season.
We’ll see you there..
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