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Professional Motorsports World Expo Award Results Announced
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The results of the 2016 Professional Motorsport World Expo awards are in! Following two years of awards dominated by a single brand, this year’s event saw a wide variety of motorsport achievements celebrated in style, according to Power Motorsport World magazine.
Ford Performance was the evening’s biggest winner, picking up the Motorsport Team of the Year and Motorsport Engineer of the Year accolades.
Facing stiff competition in the Team of the Year category from ABT Sportsline, HWA AG, Peugeot Sport, Renault e.Dams, and Team Porsche amongst others, it was Ford Performance’s incredibly diverse portfolio of factory supported programs that were said to have found favor with the judges.
The highlight of 2016 for Ford was its GT program, which was able to take victory at Le Mans. Strong performances in IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship, and the FIA’s World Endurance Championship have also been reasons for the team to celebrate.
Ford’s second award came in the Motorsport Engineer of the Year category, with GT program leader, George Howard-Chappell taking top honors ahead of Formula 1 engineers Andy Cowell and Bob Bell, with Hyundai WRC head-honcho Michel Nandan also in contention.
The 25-strong judging panel were said to be impressed with the way that Ford Performance has established itself in a number of disciplines, as well as providing extensive support and retail options to club-level racers and individuals.
While there were 13 entries competing for the Race Car of the Year position, it was Toyota’s TS050 that emerged victorious ahead of BMW’s M6 GT3, Ford’s Focus RS WRX and GT GTLM cars, McLaren’s 570S GT4, Hyundai’s i20 WRC, and Volvo’s S60 WTCC amongst others.
The TS050’s strong performance throughout the 2016 World Endurance Championship brought on the win, as did its valiant showing at Le Mans, where victory was said to be robbed from the team when in sight of the checkered flag.
Magneti Marelli took top honours in the Motorsport Technology of the Year for its high-speed camera. The device operates at 25 times the speed of European TV cameras, it allows for accidents to be analyzed in higher detail than ever before, and is helping the FIA institute further improve driver safety in the sports top-flight.
The Race Series of Year title went to Germany’s DTM championship, in a line-up featuring global heavyweights such as the SRO Group’s Blancpain GT Series, Australia’s Virgin Supercars, and Japan’s Super Formula.
The Powertrain Innovation of the Year award went to Mahle Powertrain for its Turbulent Jet Ignition combustion process, which has revolutionized the power delivery of the current forced induction Formula 1 power units.
The now familiar Young Rally Driver of the Year award was collected by the championship’s leading Nissan Micra driver, Tommi Meadows.
New for 2016 is the Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport category, which was won by Ginetta’s charismatic owner, Lawrence Tomlinson. One of the most prominent figures in UK motorsport, Tomlinson has overseen the transformation of the Ginetta brand, rebuilding it around a motorsport orientated business model. As a result, Ginetta has over 300 G50 GT4 models in competition around the world currently.
: “2016 has been a great year for motorsport, regardless of which series piques your interest, the diversity of this year’s winners shows that… The close fight for Race Series of the Year proves that despite what is written in mainstream press, motorsport is not in a bad shape globally, and when you look at the viewing figures of these championships, it proves that people still watch motorsport in abundance. Whilst it’s easy to point out what ‘needs’ to be improved without solution, we prefer to celebrate the achievements of what makes this industry so great. The breadth and depth of the nominations in all the categories this year shows that there’s an awful lot to be proud of,” said John O’Brien, who is editor of Professional MotorSport World and was on the judging panel.
For a complete list of the winners, please visit here.
Ford Performance was the evening’s biggest winner, picking up the Motorsport Team of the Year and Motorsport Engineer of the Year accolades.
Facing stiff competition in the Team of the Year category from ABT Sportsline, HWA AG, Peugeot Sport, Renault e.Dams, and Team Porsche amongst others, it was Ford Performance’s incredibly diverse portfolio of factory supported programs that were said to have found favor with the judges.
The highlight of 2016 for Ford was its GT program, which was able to take victory at Le Mans. Strong performances in IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship, and the FIA’s World Endurance Championship have also been reasons for the team to celebrate.
Ford’s second award came in the Motorsport Engineer of the Year category, with GT program leader, George Howard-Chappell taking top honors ahead of Formula 1 engineers Andy Cowell and Bob Bell, with Hyundai WRC head-honcho Michel Nandan also in contention.
The 25-strong judging panel were said to be impressed with the way that Ford Performance has established itself in a number of disciplines, as well as providing extensive support and retail options to club-level racers and individuals.
While there were 13 entries competing for the Race Car of the Year position, it was Toyota’s TS050 that emerged victorious ahead of BMW’s M6 GT3, Ford’s Focus RS WRX and GT GTLM cars, McLaren’s 570S GT4, Hyundai’s i20 WRC, and Volvo’s S60 WTCC amongst others.
The TS050’s strong performance throughout the 2016 World Endurance Championship brought on the win, as did its valiant showing at Le Mans, where victory was said to be robbed from the team when in sight of the checkered flag.
Magneti Marelli took top honours in the Motorsport Technology of the Year for its high-speed camera. The device operates at 25 times the speed of European TV cameras, it allows for accidents to be analyzed in higher detail than ever before, and is helping the FIA institute further improve driver safety in the sports top-flight.
The Race Series of Year title went to Germany’s DTM championship, in a line-up featuring global heavyweights such as the SRO Group’s Blancpain GT Series, Australia’s Virgin Supercars, and Japan’s Super Formula.
The Powertrain Innovation of the Year award went to Mahle Powertrain for its Turbulent Jet Ignition combustion process, which has revolutionized the power delivery of the current forced induction Formula 1 power units.
The now familiar Young Rally Driver of the Year award was collected by the championship’s leading Nissan Micra driver, Tommi Meadows.
New for 2016 is the Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport category, which was won by Ginetta’s charismatic owner, Lawrence Tomlinson. One of the most prominent figures in UK motorsport, Tomlinson has overseen the transformation of the Ginetta brand, rebuilding it around a motorsport orientated business model. As a result, Ginetta has over 300 G50 GT4 models in competition around the world currently.
: “2016 has been a great year for motorsport, regardless of which series piques your interest, the diversity of this year’s winners shows that… The close fight for Race Series of the Year proves that despite what is written in mainstream press, motorsport is not in a bad shape globally, and when you look at the viewing figures of these championships, it proves that people still watch motorsport in abundance. Whilst it’s easy to point out what ‘needs’ to be improved without solution, we prefer to celebrate the achievements of what makes this industry so great. The breadth and depth of the nominations in all the categories this year shows that there’s an awful lot to be proud of,” said John O’Brien, who is editor of Professional MotorSport World and was on the judging panel.
For a complete list of the winners, please visit here.
