Earl Bamber
What a year for the youngster from Whanganui. He defended his Porsche Carrera Cup Asia title, and also became the first New Zealander and first rookie to win the international Porsche Supercup championship. The new head of GT motorsport at the German manufacturer, Frank-Steffen Walliser's first move was to sign the Kiwi as a works driver. He'll start 2015 at the Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona in February and contest a full season in the United SportsCar Championship or FIA World Endurance Championship.
Brendon Hartley
After a very impressive season racing in the LMP2 class in the European Le Mans Series and the American Daytona Prototype endurance series, Hartley became the first New Zealander to become a factory Porsche LMP1 driver. More impressive is that Porsche decided to sign him up on their return to the big boy's class after 16 years away. While not managing to get a win in the all-new 919 Hybrid, Hartley did podium three times and has been confirmed as works pilot for 2015.
Hayden Paddon
Becoming the first Kiwi to win a world rally championship (PWRC) Paddon was instantly on the radar of the works' teams in the main category. It was announced at the beginning of 2014 that Paddon would become a factory driver for the Hyundai Motorsport rally team. In a restricted campaign in a new car Paddon and co-driver John Kennard still managed to run with the top drivers and eventually go on and win a stage in Spain. He's been signed up again for 2015 on a much expanded race calendar.
Mitch Evans
The Aucklander's second season in the final stepping-stone to F1 had a few bumps but he finished the season with a roar to climb into fourth place. Evans showed he had the speed to be a front-runner with six podiums including two wins. Evans is in the final negotiations as to where he'll rock up next - watch this space.
James Munro
One of our younger single-seater racers, Munro headed overseas to contest the Formula Masters China in 2014. The 17-year-old wasn't fazed by the culture change and powered his way to his first international title. He's back in New Zealand getting ready for a second tilt at the Toyota Racing Series. He will use the championship to gauge himself against 14 young drivers from various overseas categories to see if he's got the goods.
Bruce Anstey
We can't forget one of the most successful Isle of Man TT racers, not just from New Zealand but also from anywhere. He's been on the top spot nine times at the main event and on the podium 31 times in all. He was again on form during this year's event, setting the outright record at 212.9km/h covering the 60-kilometre course in a tad over 17 minutes.
V8 Supercars
The three Kiwis in one of the world's hardest V8 tin top championships all finished inside the top 10 in the hotly contested series. Man of the year, and Barry Sheene Medal winner, Scott McLaughlin has made Volvo a cool car and put jandals on the global map. The young Kiwi took his chances picking up wins, podiums and poles to finish the year fifth. The man with probably the best car control wet or dry, Shane van Gisbergen, proved a small one-car team could rattle the cages of the big boys by also winning and setting fastest laps. He had a storming run towards the end of the year to finish second behind six-time champion Jamie Whincup. Fabian Coulthard looked good in the early part of the season, spending time third on the point's table but slipped during the second half to finish eighth.
On a final note, we say goodbye to New Zealand's best V8 Supercars racer to date Greg Murphy. The four-time Bathurst winner has done his dash, including selling his NZ SuperTourer team, and will now concentrate on his television career in the foreseeable future. Honourable mentions must also go to Nick Cassidy, Richie Stanaway, Emma Gilmour and Avalon Biddle.
