TouringCarTimes’ Top 30 drivers of 2024: 10-1

Earlier this week, we started the 18th annual TouringCarTimes rundown of the Top 30 touring car drivers in the world and now it’s time for the final top ten.

Our team of writers have ranked their top performers from the championships we cover each season since 2007 and we have seen legendary drivers like Mattias Ekström, José María López and Colin Turkington being awarded.

Join us as we count down from ten to one – and if you missed it, you can check out positions 30-21 and positions 20-11.

10 – Mikel Azcona, Third in FIA TCR World Tour with BRC Racing

Mikel Azcona retained his position as one of the top TCR drivers around in 2024 with another strong season on track for BRC Racing, although he would have to settle for third spot in the FIA TCR World Tour standings when the year drew to a close in Macau. The Spaniard would produce a consistent campaign that saw him fail to make the top ten on just occasion but making the podium in only four races, with a single win in China, would be critical in the end of season standings as he often had to assist team-mate and champion Norbert Michelisz.

9 – Chaz Mostert, Third in Supercars with Walkinshaw Andretti United

Chaz Mostert emerged as the top Ford driver in the 2024 Supercars standings and whilst his wait for the championship title goes on, the WAU driver did end the campaign with three individual awards at the end of season gala. That was a reflection of the strong performances shown by Mostert across the year, including an impressive double win at Sydney Motorsport Park. Those wins came in the middle of a run of five straight podiums at the mid-point of the season, but he ultimately lacked the consistency to beat the Triple Eight drivers at the top..

8 – Ash Sutton, Third in the BTCC with NAPA Racing UK

Ash Sutton’s 2023 season will go down in the record books as one of the best in BTCC history, and it was always going to be tough to match that for the NAPA Racing man in 2024 – particularly when the team’s rivals took big steps forward over the winter. His Ford Focus was no longer the class of the field but Sutton still kicked off the season with seven straight podium finishes and remained in the title mix until the Brands Hatch finale when an unfortunate race one retirement ended his championship challenge.

7 – Cameron Waters, Fourth in Supercars with Tickford Racing

Over a single lap, no-one could match Cameron Waters in 2024 as he emerged as the qualifying king in Supercars – scoring pole position seven times during the season for Tickford Racing. That he only ended the season fourth in the standings could therefore be seen as slightly disappointing but Waters was on the back foot from the very start when the season opener at Bathurst coincided with a bout of illness that left him off the pace and immediately playing catch-up in the standings. Four wins, and a strong second half of the year, showed why he should be a title contender in 2025.

6 – Norbert Michelisz, FIA TCR World Tour Champion with BRC Racing

Norbert Michelisz picked up a third world touring car title in 2024 as he successfully defended his FIA TCR World Tour crown with BRC Racing. The Hungarian driver kicked off his defence with victory in the opening race in Vallelunga and would be a fixture towards the front of the standings throughout as he led the Hyundai challenge. Despite taking a second win of the year at Interlagos, Michelisz was under real pressure heading to Macau, but used all of his experience to emerge on top in the final reckoning, with the backing of his two team-mates Mikel Azcona and Néstor Girolami playing a key part.

5 – Thed Björk, FIA TCR World Tour runner-up with Cyan Racing

At the half-way stage of the FIA TCR World Tour season, Thed Björk had just one podium finish to his name and whilst that result was a win at Mid-Ohio, it looked like the Swede would once again end up taking a supporting role to Yann Ehrlacher in the race for the title. However, it was Björk who would ultimately end up leading the Cyan Racing charge after a stunning second half of the year saw him go agonisingly close to adding to his 2017 WTCC crown. Four successive podium finishes allowed Björk to eat away at Norbert Michelisz’s lead and victory in race one at Macau meant a gap that had been more than 30 points at one stage was reduced to just five. Although Michelisz held on to be crowned champion, the manner in which Björk rolled back the years to come so close was particularly impressive.

4 – Broc Feeney, Supercars runner-up with Triple Eight

Going into his third full season in Supercars at the age of just 21, hopes were high for Broc Feeney as the youngster looked to help lead the team into a new era following the departure of Shane van Gisbergen to NASCAR. Kicking off the season with victory in the opening race of the year at Bathurst, Feeney grabbed the early lead in the standings and would go on to score more wins than anyone else – with six trips to the top step of the podium. Only the astonishing consistency of his team-mate prevented Feeney from adding to his Super2 title.

3 – Tom Ingram, BTCC runner-up with EXCELR8

Arguably the quickest driver on track during the 2024 BTCC season, Tom Ingram came agonisingly close to his second title but ultimately had to settle for the runner-up slot for a sevond successive year. The EXCELR8 driver kicked off the season with victory at Donington Park to lead the way early on a run from the back of the grid to second at the same circuit later in the year was one of the drives of the season. The year-long battle with Jake Hill for the title will go down as one of the the great championship fights and had it not been for rain in the final race of the year, could well have been decided in his favour.

2 – Jake Hill, BTCC Champion with West Surrey Racing

Two years with WSR had shown Jake Hill had the potential to challenge for the BTCC title and in 2024, it all came together for a driver who for many years had taken on the role of the plucky underdog. Eradicating some of the rash moves that had cost him in previous years, Hill was both quick and consistent throughout the season as he scored more wins than anyone else and picked up podium finishes in more than half of the 30 races. Mistakes were rare and when the BMW was on song – which was more often than not – Hill took full advantage to come out on top of one of the tightest title battles in series history.

1 – Will Brown, Supercars Champion with Triple Eight

Stepping into the seat vacated by Shane van Gisbergen was always going to be a huge challenge, but it was a challenge that Will Brown relished after joining from Erebus Motorsport. The former TCR Australia champion had enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2023 to take fifth in the standings, but the switch to Triple Eight saw Brown move to the next level with a stunning campaign that saw him finish on the podium 19 times in just 24 starts.

The battle with young team-mate – and title favourite – Broc Feeney was one of the main stories of the season, and the fight between the pair for victory at Sandown was particularly memorable as Brown came out on top. That would be one of five wins that helped him lift the title in Adelaide to prove any pre-season doubters wrong.

This is Brown’s first TouringCarTimes Award and he becomes the fifth Supercars Championship driver in the TouringCarTimes Hall Of Fame list, taking over the honours from former BTCC champion Ash Sutton who claimed the 2023 awards.

TouringCarTimes Driver of the Year – Hall of fame

2007 – Mattias Ekström
2008 – Yvan Muller
2009 – Colin Turkington
2010 – Jason Plato
2011 – Rob Huff
2012 – Gordon Shedden
2013 – Jamie Whincup
2014 – José María López
2015 – José María López/Mark Winterbottom
2016 – Shane van Gisbergen
2017 – Norbert Michelisz
2018 – Scott McLaughlin
2019 – Colin Turkington
2020 – René Rast
2021 – Shane van Gisbergen
2022 – Shane van Gisbergen
2023 – Ash Sutton