KEY POINTS:
It was Scott Dixon's year in motorsport but Brendon Hartley is in pole position to fly New Zealand's flag in Formula One.
Dixon, with his Indy 500 win and IndyCar series title, provided the highlight to New Zealand motorsport's year in 2008.
In May, Dixon became the first New Zealander to win the Indy 500, America's most prestigious motor race, leading from start to finish in a flawless performance.
In September, he collected US$1 million ($1.71 million) for winning the 17-race IndyCar series - his second career title after taking out the 2003 series in his rookie year.
"Getting married, winning the 500, winning a championship in one year - not too many people can probably say they've done that," Dixon said.
On his way to the title, Dixon notched six race victories, including a record four from pole position, and led 899 laps, a series record.
His achievements put him in the running to emulate speedway champion Ivan Mauger and the late Formula One champion Denny Hulme in winning Sportsman of the Year and the Halberg overall award.
However, at 28, his dream of a Formula One (F1) drive appeared to be over with the baton of following in the tracks of Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, Chris Amon, in the 60s, and Mike Thackwell, in the 80s, passed to a trio of youngsters.
Brendon Hartley, from Palmerston North, Wanganui's Earl Bamber and Chris van der Drift, formerly of Hamilton but now based in the Netherlands, are all on the right path to break into F1.
Hartley, a member of the Red Bull junior development team, is the best-placed of the three to become the first New Zealander to race in F1 since Thackwell piloted a RAM at the 1984 Canadian Grand Prix.
Hartley became the first New Zealander since Dixon in 2004 to officially test an F1 car when he was strapped into an RB4 at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain, on December 15.
Third-fastest at the end of the day in the company of four other drivers with F1 experience, he had done enough to meet the requirements to gain an FIA super-licence at age 19.
The super-licence qualified him to became a team's official test driver and to race in a grand prix.
Leading into his test, Hartley had served a third year as a junior development programme driver while impressing Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
He finished third in the British F3 championship, a misnomer because the series visits some European countries, then muscled his way into third at the prestigious Macau F3 grand prix after starting from 20th on the grid. He set a lap record on the twisty street circuit along the way.
He will have another tilt at the British F3 title next season but having gained his super-licence, Hartley may have done enough to earn the Red Bull test driver's spot vacated by Sebastien Buemi, who is likely to be promoted.
Test drives are still a long way off for the other two but they are certainly making all the right noises.
Bamber, 18, has been compiling an impressive CV via the Asian circuit since he was 15, and has been rated as one of the top 10 drivers to watch in the future by the respected website.
In 2008 Bamber raced in Asia, Australasia and Europe in Formula BMW (Asia), Formula 3 (Australia), Formula V6 (Asia), Formula Masters (Europe), GP2 (Asia) and in A1GP with the New Zealand team.
Van der Drift, who shares driving duties with Bamber in Black Beauty in the A1GP series, has also raced Formula BMW and in the European Formula Renault 2.0. He finished second in the International Formula Master series last year and won it this year.
He too is racing in the GP2 Asia series with the aim of making the European GP2 series next year.
Elsewhere injury dominated the seasons of country's best known motorsport identities.
2004 world MX2 champion Ben Townley, as in 2007, spent more time in rehabilitation than on his bike on the United States circuit while Josh Coppins, after narrowly missing the 2007 world MX1 title, suffered another injury-plagued 2008.
Coppins says he has one more campaign left in him and his fans will be fervently hoping 2009 will be kinder to him.
There was a bleak outlook for double women's world motocross champion Katherine Prumm and for V8 driver Paul Radisich.
Chasing another world crown, Prumm's 2008 campaign was ended early by a knee injury and broken collarbone.
Having recovered from surgery to repair ligaments in her knee Prumm broke her back when her bike landed on her after she mistimed a jump in training in November.
Having come through surgery for three broken vertebrae, she is not looking further than at getting back on her feet again.
Bathurst is proving to be Radisich's bogey track.
He broke an ankle in writing off Team Kiwi Racing's car there in 2006 and this year slammed into another wall at the Mount Panorama track when the throttle on his car stuck open.
He suffered a long list of injuries - broken right ankle, dislocated left ankle, fractures to his lumbar and thoracic vertebrae, cracked ribs and bruising to his lungs as well as reopening the fractured sternum from his 2006 Bathurst shunt.
With a year of recuperation needed, it will take extraordinary will from the 46-year-old to resume his racing career.
- NZPA
