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TouringCarTimes’ Top 30 drivers of 2023: 20-11

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It’s time for part two of the 17th annual TouringCarTimes rundown of the Top 30 touring car drivers in the world. This is where our staff makes their choice based on the 2023 season.

We have ranked who we judge as the best touring car drivers from the major international and national series, including the BTCC, Supercars, TCR World Tour, TCR Europe and various TCR championships.

The first part of the 2023 ranking is available here.

20 – Tom Coronel – TCR Europe – Comtoyou Racing – 2 wins

Consistency was key for touring car veteran Tom Coronel enroute to the 2023 TCR Europe title. His main contenders were Comtoyou Racing team-mates John Filippi and Kobe Pauwels, with both scoring more wins than the Dutchman. But neither could match Coronel’s impressive ten podium finishes, missing the podium just four times, and he proved that experience and consistency was the winning way.

19 – Tony D’Alberto – TCR Australia – Wall Racing – 3 wins

Tony D’Alberto wasn’t able to defend his 2022 TCR Australia title but still produced a consistent and impressive 2023 season to finish as runner-up. The Honda driver was also one of the strongest local drivers when the Australian field was joined by the TCR World Tour drivers for the final two rounds. The Australian then performed strongly as co-driver to Anton de Pasquale in the Supercars Championship endurance rounds, notching up a podium finish in the Bathurst 1000 race.

18 – Josh Buchan – TCR Australia – HMO Customer Racing – 2 wins

Josh Buchan has made a steady climb in TCR Australia, from seventh in his debut 2021 season, to third in 2022 and finally the top step in 2023. The Hyundai could not match his team-mate Bailey Sweeny regarding number of wins, but was unmatched in terms of consistency. Buchan reached the podium eight times to claim the title by 50 points ahead of last year’s champion Tony D’Alberto.

17 – Frédéric Vervisch – TCR World Tour – Comtoyou Racing – 1 win

Audi Sport driver Frédéric Vervisch drove an anonymous TCR World Tour season to finish fourth overall. The Belgian driver was unable to match the pace of team-mate Rob Huff but rarely put a wheel wrong, scoring six podium finishes and ended the season strongly by winning the main race of the Macau Guia season finale.

16 – Colin Turkington – BTCC – West Surrey Racing – 4 wins

Colin Turkington was once again a contender at the front of the BTCC grid for much of the season, although his campaign was very much under the radar compared to team-mate Jake Hill. A win at Oulton Park was one of the highlights but three retirements in the second half of the season would ultimately blunt his challenge.

15 – Josh Cook – BTCC – One Motorsport – 5 podium

Josh Cook failed to win a race all season and only scored five podium finishes, but it far from tells the whole story of his BTCC programme. One Motorsport’s decision to switch to the ex-Team Dynamics Hondas and a new engine to the one they had run before created various challenges but Cook wrestled his car to a top-five championship finish and the Independents title. Not what he had hoped for, but impressive with the package underneath him.

14 – Kasper Jensen – TCR Denmark – GMB Motorsport – 8 wins

Kasper Jensen extended his impressive record of claiming a fourth consecutive TCR Denmark title and remains the only champion of the Danish series since its inception in 2020. The Honda driver faced tough opposition from Mike Halder, Nicolai Sylvest and Jan Magnussen, but still won the title in style with eight wins and a total of 12 podium finishes. It would no doubt be interesting to see what the Dane could do in an international championship in 2024…

13 – Franco Girolami – TCR Italy – Aikoa Racing – 3 wins

Last year’s TCR Europe champion switched to the highly competitive TCR Italy championship for 2023 and was interlocked in a season-long fight with arch rival and outgoing champion Niels Langeveld. The Aikoa Racing driver drove a mature season, winning three times and missed out on the podium just two times.

12 – Cameron Waters – Supercars – Tickford Raing – 3 wins

Tickford Racing driver Cameron Waters started the 2023 Supercars Championship season in the best possible way with a victory but then had to wait until the penultimate round at Surfers Paradise for his next. Waters still finished a respectable sixth, ending the season with three podium finishes (of which one was a victory) from the last four races.

11 – Jake Hill – BTCC – West Surrey Racing – 6 wins

The 2023 BTCC season was the best yet for Jake Hill who once again impressed in a WSR-run BMW. Six wins and twelve podium finishes was an solid return from a season where he should have been a title contender until the final round only for technical gremlins at Silverstone to end his challenge early. One of the quickest and most spectacular drivers on the grid, he’ll be in the mix again next year.

The final part of the ranking will follow shortly.