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Ford, Toyota, Ginetta, DTM, Mahle and Magnetti Marelli all scoop honours at Professional MotorSport World Awards 2016
Professional MotorSport World 2016

IN a ceremony championing the very best in motorsport innovation and new technology, Toyota has clinched the Professional Motorsport World Race Car of the Year award for its World Endurance Championship competing TS050 Hybrid, overcoming heavy competition from Hyundai, Ferrari, Ford and McLaren.

The Toyota has been a regular contender for race wins in the 2016 season, taking five podiums so far. The Le Mans race saw Toyota get agonisingly close to becoming the first Japanese manufacturer to claim outright victory since Mazda in 1999, before a solitary component failure robbed them of a guaranteed win, with the chequered flag within touching distance.

Judges praised the TS050 Hybrid for its completely redesigned chassis accommodating its all-new powertrain concept with a 2.4-litre, twin-turbo, direct injection V6 petrol engine combined with front and rear motor generators and an all-new lithium-ion battery, moving the car up to the 8MJ hybrid class.

Winners across all categories were announced last night, (9, November) with key categories including Race Car of the Year, Motorsport Team of the Year, Motorsport Facility of the Year, and Motorsport Technology of the Year, culminating in the prestigious and much anticipated Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport award.

Ford didn’t go away empty-handed, as full credit was given to Ford Performance’s wildly successful 2016 motorsport programs, scooping Motorsport Team of the Year. The highlight of this hugely successful season for the team was undoubtedly a remarkable 1-2 Le Mans victory in the GT LM class, echoing the Ford 1-2-3 victory of exactly fifty years prior, along with successful NASCAR activity and multiple domestic and international road race championships, drag racing, rallycross and drifting.

Ford’s successful evening continued with a win for George Howard-Chappell, program manager for the Ford GTE campaign, in the Motorsport Engineer of the Year category for his instrumental role in the project.

The iconic Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe scooped Motorsport Facility of the Year, in a diverse line-up featuring Watkins Glen, Daytona, iZone, Multimatic Motorsports and Base Performance Simulators. Deutsche Touring Masters (DTM) picked up Race Series of the Year after enjoying another growth year and a fiercely fought championship battle. Race promoters utilised social media to great effect, giving fans very welcome further access and exclusive content.

The Motorsport Technology of the Year award went to Magnetti Marelli’s cockpit facing High Speed Camera, developed in conjunction with the FIA’s Global Institute of Motor Sport Safety. Operating at 400 frames per second (fps), the camera is the latest tool to improve safety in Formula 1 and was put to immediate use in the 2016 season, recording in unprecedented detail Fernando Alonso’s 46g lateral deceleration during the Australian GP.

This year’s Powertrain of the Year award was won by Mahle for its Turbulent Jet Ignition, which faced stiff competition from the Race Car of the Year winner, Toyota’s TS050 and its all-new 8MJ powertrain, as well as Ricardo’s 750T-GT3 transmission, RenaultSport’s Z.E. 15 powertrain and Bosch Motorsport’s MS7.4 ECU.

In a category designed to showcase emerging racing talent, The Young Rally Driver of the Year award is always a hotly contested category between the rising stars of the Kick Energy Junior 1000 championship. This year’s award deservedly went to Tommi Meadows for his blend of maturity, speed, and marketability.

Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport

But it was not just the rising stars of the industry celebrated, and all eyes were on Ginetta, as the most anticipated award of the night, the Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport was announced.

This prestigious category is awarded each year to an individual whose personal achievements leave a long-lasting positive impact on the industry. And this year it was Ginetta Chairman Lawrence Tomlinson who was victor, credited for his tireless and passionate work promoting the Ginetta brand.

Tomlinson has been at the helm at Ginetta for 11-years, since purchasing the company in 2005. During his tenure, Tomlinson not only designed the specification Ginetta G50 GT car, now currently racing in GT championships across the world, but also has also seen it gain its own Ginetta GT Supercup series in the UK.


The winners of the Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards

Race Car of the Year
Winner: Toyota TS050

Race Series of the Year
Winner: DTM

Motorsport Team of the Year
Winner: Ford Performance

Engineer of the Year
Winner: George Howard-Chappell, program manager, Ford GT, Multimatic

Motorsport Technology of the Year
Winner: Magnetti Marelli UHD Camera

Powertrain Innovation of the Year
Winner: Mahle Turbulent Jet Ignition (TJI)

Motorsport Facility of the Year
Winner: Circuit de la Sarthe, France

Outstanding Contribution to Motorsport
Winner: Lawrence Tomlinson, Ginetta

Young Rally Driver of the Year
Winner: Tommi Meadows

Judging Panel

• Javier Arús, editor-in-chief, Evo Spain
• Clive Bowen, founder and director, Apex Circuit Design
• Sam Collins, deputy editor, Racecar Engineering
• Mark Higgins, driver and rally tutor, Subaru Rally Team China
• Rebecca Jackson, driver and presenter, MAS Motorsport/Telegraph Motoring
• Geoff Jones, rally tutor, Geoff Jones Motorsport
• Phil Morse, technical director, Energy Balance LLC
• Jonas Jarlmark Näfver, manager of automotive R&D, Öhlins
• Andrew Noakes, editor, Car Technical
• John O’Brien, editor, Professional MotorSport World
• Gerard Quinn, director of motorsport, Ford Europe
• Mark Raffauf, MD of race operations, IMSA
• Robert Reid, performance director, MSA
• Joe Saward, F1 editor and columnist, Motorsport on Monday/PMW
• Roland Schedel, managing director, Text-Com PR Agency
• Armin Schwarz, driver, All German Motorsports
• Alistair Sutherland, managing director, XS Rally team
• Marcel ten Caat, editor-in-chief, Planetlemans.com
• Craig Thomas, editor, Redline Content
• Andrea Toso, technical director, Dallara Automobili
• David Tremayne, editor/columnist, Grand Prix +/PMW
• Mike Trice, senior principal, Populous
• Alan Wilson, CEO, Wilson Motorsport Inc
• Matthew Wilson, driver and team manager, M-Sport Racing
• Kevin Witton, clerk of the course, Bulldog Rally

The awards, hosted at Professional MotorSport World Expo 2016 in Cologne, have grown to become a key event in the motorsport calendar, shining a light on the teams and individuals whose ingenuity and dedication to motorsport have without doubt helped push the industry forward.
The winners of the awards were announced at a Gala Dinner on the first evening of Professional MotorSport World Expo 2016.
For more information about each winner visit: http://www.professionalmotorsport-expo.com/english/awards_winners_2016.php

Follow us on twitter @PMWExpo

Ends.

For more information contact:
Peter Haynes
PR director
peter.haynes@ukipme.com

Amy Miller
PR account manager
Amy.miller@ukipme.com

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