TouringCarTimes’ Top 30 drivers of 2022: 20-11
We are moving on to the second part of the 16th annual TouringCarTimes rundown of the Top 30 touring car drivers in the world, where our staff makes their choice based on the 2022 season – ranking positions 20 to 11.
We have ranked who we judge as the best touring car drivers from the major international and national series, including the BTCC, Supercars, WTCR, TCR Europe and various TCR championships.
20 – Norbert Michelisz – WTCR/ETCR – BRC Racing Team – 1 win
The 2019 WTCR champion had another consistent campaign for Hyundai in the WTCR and ETCR. And, in a normal season, Michelisz would have been one of the absolute standout drivers.
As it was, he was somewhat in the shade of champion team-mate Azcona in both championships, but make no mistake, Michelisz has still very much got what it takes to fight for the title.
19 – Brodie Kostecki – Supercars – Erebus Motorsport – 2 podiums
Brodie Kostecki performed strongly in the Supercars Championship season, despite a tricky year for the Erebus Motorsport team.
The 25-year-old beat his team-mate Will Brown, scored a Bathurst top ten grid slot and finished in the top five of the Great Race – proving his place among the Supercars drivers to watch for the future.
18 – Tom Blomqvist – ETCR – Cupra EKS – 1 win
The Briton faced his first year of electric racing with Cupra and showed great speed from the beginning. As the fight for the championship raged between team-mates Adrien Tambay and Mattias Ekström, Blomqvist became a true team player as he picked up four podium finishes – including a win in the season finale to end the year in third spot.
17 – Santiago Urrutia – WTCR/TCR SA – Cyan Racing/PMO – 2 wins
Santiago Urrutia looked set to be one of the main WTCR title candidates this year until his and Cyan Racing’s season was cut short as the Swedish squad withdrew from the championship following the Goodyear debacle.
The Uruguayan driver was the sole Cyan Racing driver to win this year and performed strongly in the selected TCR South America races he took part in for PMO Motorsport. There is little doubt that if Urrutia continues his strong performance, he will seriously challenge for a major touring car title.
14 – Néstor Girolami – WTCR – Münnich Motorsport – 2 wins
The closest WTCR title challenger to Mikel Azcona in the end, this was another case of what could have been for the Honda driver, who didn’t have a bad year. He just didn’t have Azcona’s year.
Five podiums – including two wins – left him defending second place in the standings ahead of the final round in Saudi. While the end of the year wasn’t vintage Girolami, he collected points when Berthon didn’t to maintain his runner-up spot, which should be applauded.
15 – Mattias Ekström – ETCR – Cupra EKS – 2 wins
With his own EKS team taking over from Zengo Motorsport for the Cupra venture into the ETCR, Mattias Ekström started the season winning at Pau-Ville but would soon come under pressure from team-mate Adrien Tambay. The Swede fought until the end but could only manage finishing as runner-up in his second year in the series.
14 – Maxime Martin – ETCR – Romeo Ferraris – 1 win
Maxime Martin regularly outperformed his team-mates, including former DTM champion Bruno Spengler, and claimed the only victory of the ETCR season for the Italian Romeo Ferraris outfit at Zolder.
A number of strong performances at the end of the season allowed Martin to be ‘best of the rest’, behind the leading Cupra trio in the standings – ahead of the official Hyundai drivers.
13 – Broc Feeney – Supercars – Triple Eight – 1 win
Broc Feeney did not have a small task in taking over from Supercars giant Jamie Whincup at Triple Eight Race Engineering, but enjoyed an impressive maiden season in the Australian championship.
The 20-year-old finished sixth overall and won the last race of 2022 on the streets of Adelaide and has got a promising future ahead.
12 – Colin Turkington – BTCC – West Surrey Racing – 3 wins
For much of the year, it looked like Colin Turkington could become the first five-time champion in BTCC history as he produced his usual high-quality performances to sit pretty near the top of the standings.
A run of misfortune in the latter part of the campaign would ultimately end his title hopes and meant he finished outside the top three in the standings for the first time since 2016.
11 – Will Davison – Supercars – Dick Johnson Racing – 3 wins
Will Davison had a lot of expectations resting on his shoulders when racing for Dick Johnson Racing in Supercars this season. And while he didn’t fight for the title, the Ford driver completed a consistent and impressive season to finish fifth overall.
Despite being one of the older drivers in the championship at the age of 40, his three wins and a total of 14 podiums proves he is still a serious contender for 2023.
Positions 10 to 1 to follow on Monday.
