Autosport Awards 2008

David Coulthard remains on stage for a surprise Award presentation.

In 1989, Coulthard was named as the first McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner. Tonight, the Scotsman, a 13-time Formula One winner, is given a trophy to go with the title as silverware was not handed out when the Award was first created.

Jenson Button steps up to the stage to present Coulthard with the "most overdue trophy in motorsport."

Oliver Turvey is the winner of the National Driver of the Year Award. The British Formula Three runner-up steps up to the stage to receive the Paul Warwick Trophy.

The final presentation in the first batch of Awards this evening is for the National Driver of the Year. In 2008, for the first time, this is a combined Award open to both circuit racers and rally drivers.

Oliver Turvey and Jaime Alguersuari

British Formula Three front-runner Oliver Turvey is in contention, along with his Carlin Motorsport teammate Jaime Alguersuari.

Turvey completed his debut season as runner-up to the exciting Spanish driver. Between them they netted 25 podiums from the 22 races held throughout the season, featuring a very strong season-ending run from Turvey of 10 podiums in the final 12 races.

This late run of form from the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner was dented by two non-points finishes – races which Alguersuari crucially finished well in. The Spaniard ended the year as champion, with Turvey then travelling to the prestigious Macau Grand Prix, returning home with a seventh place finish after a disappointing weekend.

Fabrizio Giovanardi, Mat Jackson and Jason Plato make up a trio of British Touring Car stars in the running for the Award. Giovanardi's consistency and incredible ability to cut through the field saw him take the title after a season-long battle with Plato, who won more races than the Italian but suffered a number of costly retirements. Jackson starred in his independent BMW, taking five wins and sneaking past Plato for second in the points on the final day of the season.

Guy Wilks

Guy Wilks is the sole representative of the British Rally Championship on the shortlist for the Award.

Today, the Mitsubishi driver has successfully retained his 2007 crown, having finished ahead of his title rivals on the Wales Rally GB – the only time during the year that the British championship stars could pit their skills against the WRC drivers in the same event.

The BRDC 'Stars of Tomorrow' British and National Kart Championships are the first rung on the ladder for young drivers aiming for a life in motorsport.

Many of today's Formula One drivers began their careers in karting, making a name for themselves as future prospects before moving into single-seater racing. Indeed, several grand prix drivers such as Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello have gone back to their roots in the last few weeks, taking part in various karting competitions in Brazil.

Lewis Hamilton knows very well the value of the British karting system, having come through the ranks, leading to his first appearance at the Autosport Awards in 1995 and a fateful meeting with McLaren team boss Ron Dennis here at the Grosvenor House.

Tonight, the five winners from the 2008 Stars of Tomorrow championships are here, and are invited onto the stage to collect their trophies.

They are:

Roy Johnson – MSA British Cadet champion
Callum Bowyer – Formula Rotax Minimax champion
Ross Wylie – Formula Rotax Junior Max champion
Jake Dennis – Formula KF3 champion
Tom Duggan – ABKC S4 KZ1 champion

David Coulthard announces that Adam Christodoulou, the Formula Renault UK champion, is the British Club Driver of the Year Award winner for 2008.

Three of tonight's nominees for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award are also in contention for the first Award to be handed out this evening – the British Club Driver of the Year Award.

Previous winners in this category include none other than the new Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton. Eddie Irvine, Allan McNish and David Coulthard have also received this trophy in the past.

Formula Palmer Audi champion Jason Moore, Formula Renault UK champion Adam Christodoulou, and British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd are all shortlisted in this category, and we will speak about these drivers in more detail in the build-up to the main presentation of the night.

James Gornall was recently crowned the 2008 British GT champion along with his Team Trimite Brookspeed teammate Jon Barnes, after a very successful season during which they clinched eight podium finishes in the 14 events – including four victories - in their Dodge Viper. Four weeks ago at an awards ceremony in Windsor, the pair received their championship trophies, and claiming the British Club Driver Award would cap a great season for the 24-year-old. Away from his GT career, Gornall acts as a trackday racing instructor at Rockingham Speedway.

Nigel Moore

The list of British champions in contention for this Award continues with the 2008 Ginetta G50 champion, Nigel Moore. A stunning season with Tockwith Motorsport has seen Moore dominate in the torquey Ginettas, winning 14 of the 19 races and finishing on the podium 18 times - a fantastic strike rate. This season Moore also participated in the GT4 category of the British GT championship in his Ginetta, for Team RPM. Two race victories and four podiums in eight starts cemented a sensational season.

The final nominee for the Club Driver of the Year award is another champion: 2008 ELF Renault Clio Cup champion Ben Winrow. After finishing fifth in his first season in the Clio Cup last year, the Team Pyro driver delivered a near-faultless string of results in 2008 – 17 podiums in 17 races, nine of them on the top step of the rostrum – to effortlessly claim the UK title with three rounds remaining.

Ben Winrow

Following this success, the 23-year-old was invited to the Paul Ricard Test Track in November, along with other Clio Cup national champions from the rest of Europe, for a test day in a Megane Trophy race car. Winrow posted very impressive times, raising the possibility of moving up to the Eurocup Megane Trophy, supporting the World Series by Renault championship, in 2009.

Steve Rider, tonight's host, steps up onto the stage to begin the presentation of the first batch of Awards.

The dinner is underway in the Great Room, with the first of the five courses now being served.

World champion Lewis Hamilton entered the room to rapturous applause from the 1200 guests.

Formula Renault Podium

In our continuing look at tonight's big prize, three of the nominees for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award hail from the often-frenetic Formula Renault UK Championship.

Dean Stoneman, Alexander Sims and Adam Christodoulou have all impressed in the 20-race series which began at the end of March at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit. We look back on the year to give you an overview of how each driver's season has developed.

Alexander Sims went into the season-opener as the man to beat, having set electrifying times in winter testing. This, combined with a year's experience of Formula Renault in 2007, put the 20-year-old in a strong position for the campaign ahead.

However, it was Adam Christodoulou – also going into his second full season in the series, having won the graduate class in 2007 with four wins – who blitzed the field in the opening rounds of the championship. Five victories in the opening nine races gave the 19-year-old a healthy lead in the championship chase.

Dean Stoneman would go into the Formula Renault year with the least experience of the three – this being his first season and thus entered for the graduate category, following on from a promising run in the 2007 Formula Renault winter cup, where his finished sixth in the standings. Despite some early-season struggles, Stoneman finished in the top five four times in the opening seven rounds, beating everyone at Donington (round six) on the way.

With 32 points on offer for a race victory, 28 for second down to 20 points for a fifth place finish, the Formula Renault UK series rewards drivers who show consistency and are able to bring the car home in all circumstances. While Adam Christodoulou displayed great speed and raw talent throughout the first half of the season, his run of form was not without problems: Jumping the start at Thruxton cost the Lichfield-based driver valuable points, and contact with Jordan Oakes whilst battling for the lead at Silverstone resulted in a first lap retirement.

Alexander Sims

Meantime, what was becoming impressive by the middle of the season was the level of consistency shown by Alexander Sims. Admittedly, Sims occasionally spun the car off the track while dicing for position, but each and every time he brought his Manor Motorsport entry over the line to score points. In the 20 race season, he never finished lower than ninth.

As it turned out, by the season's end, Sims had amassed a single point more than Christodoulou. However, in Formula Renault only the best 18 scores out of the 20 races count towards the overall total, meaning that Sims had to drop his two lowest scores, while Christodoulou – having notched up two retirements – could rely on all his 18 finishes to count towards his final score of 472 points.

Further down the standings, in fourth overall, was graduate class winner Dean Stoneman. The graduate category was dominated by the Alpine Motorsport driver, and his string of results in the second half of the season displayed a continual improvement in his driving. Nine top-five finishes in the last 12 races of the season for a rookie is no mean feat. If Stoneman can continue this rate of improvement and consistency, he should become a leading force in the Formula Renault UK series in 2009.

All three of drivers are deserving of their nomination for tonight's star prize: Christodoulou for his raw pace and fantastic early-season form, Sims for his consistent finishing record and ability to finish the race in all circumstances, and Stoneman for a great first full season at this level and a clear run of improvement over the year. Will one of these three drivers land the ultimate prize for a young aspiring driver later tonight?

The guests are being called to the tables for dinner and the stars of world motorsport are now filing into the Great Room.

Jason Moore

Throughout the evening we will be profiling the six nominees for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, with the first of these covering a 20-year-old who blazed a trail to the 2008 Formula Palmer Audi title.

Jason Moore came into the 2008 FPA year with a season's experience already under his belt. Throughout 2007, the Bedford-based driver had acclimatised himself with the 360 horsepower Van Diemen machines, as well as learning Britain's premier racing circuits, finishing a creditable fifth in the championship.

This created a solid platform from which to launch a strong 2008 campaign – no easy feat, given that all the cars are prepared equally in the series, leaving the drivers to make the difference. Moore kicked off the season perfectly with two victories on the opening weekend at Donington Park. He won again at the fourth round at Brands Hatch to establish a healthy points lead, but his buffer would be short-lived.

The second of the two Brands Hatch races would see Moore vigorously defending third place against the advancing Jack Clarke, resulting in contact between the pair that pitched Moore into the gravel at Druids. Despite the clash, Moore emerged from the second weekend of the season with a six-point lead over round five winner Tom Bradshaw.

The third weekend of the campaign saw the drivers racing outside the UK, on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix circuit in Belgium. The Ardennes weather was at its fickle best, on a weekend when series front-runner Alex Brundle would be joined by his father, Martin, for a one-off appearance.

Jolyon Palmer won the first wet race, but Jason Moore claimed the honours in the second, drier event. The scene was set for the final race with Palmer and Moore occupying the front row of the grid. Moore got the jump at the start and led away as Palmer bogged down. Palmer – the son of series director and ex-Formula One driver Jonathan Palmer - slowly came back to the tail of Moore and took the lead as they surged into the braking zone for Les Combes at the end of the Kemmel straight. There was more to come however, as Moore stayed close behind in second in the closing laps of the race.

The result was decided in a brilliant manoeuvre at the Bus Stop chicane on the final lap as Moore dived up the inside, braking incredibly late from several car-lengths back. The points leader ran wide, but magnificently held his line in the final left-hander the chicane to punch past the line as the winner of round eight, ahead of Palmer.

By this stage in the season Moore's consistency was beginning to show through. The Formula Palmer Audi series is awash with young talent: Tom Bradshaw, Jack Clarke, Alex Brundle, Richard Plant and Jolyon Palmer are all clearly quick, but also prone to finding the limits of the 1.8 litre turbo-charged cars and overstepping the mark a little too easily.

Moore was quick and consistent, securing six podiums – five of those six on the top step of the rostrum – in the opening eight races of the 20-race championship. This impressive string of results gave Moore a ten-point lead over Jolyon Palmer in the standings, with third placed Ivan Lukashievich some 42 points off the lead. Oulton Park was next and Moore enjoyed another positive weekend, extending his lead over Palmer to 32 points.

Jason Moore

Rounds 11 and 12 were held on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, and Moore again demonstrated supreme overtaking skills, harrying Jolyon Palmer for the lead in the first race before sending another great move – round the outside this time – on his title rival. He then easily pulled away from Palmer to take his sixth victory of the campaign by over five seconds. Jack Clarke got the jump on Palmer at the start of the second race, with Moore in close attendance in third. The trio ran in close formation throughout the 16-lap event and finished in that order.

Snetterton would see Moore's healthy lead reduced dramatically in a disastrous weekend which netted just one podium in three races. A DNF in the first race came in part from another demon overtaking move on Jolyon Palmer for second place. Palmer came back at Moore instantly and briefly lost control of his car, running wide into the path of Moore, launching him into the tyre barriers and out of the race.

Between races the rain began to fall and Moore – who was running comfortably in second in the wet - spun whilst all alone on the circuit. He recovered to finish a disappointing sixth and his points lead being eaten into all the time by Jolyon Palmer, Tom Bradshaw and Jack Clarke. With the pack closing in, the pressure mounted on Moore to secure some decent points in the final race of the day. This he did, finishing second to Tom Bradshaw, with Jolyon Palmer third.

Moore left Snetterton with a 15-point advantage over Palmer and little breathing space, but following a shaky opening race at Brands Hatch, he recovered with two second place finishes behind series returnee Richard Keen to maintain his small lead in the standings.

It would all come down to the final double-header event on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. Moore scored another crucial second place finish behind another returnee, Matt Hamilton, with Jolyon Palmer third and Tom Bradshaw fourth. This left Moore with a 19-point lead over Bradshaw going into the final race of the season with 24 points on offer for the race victor. The maths were simple: to win the 2008 title, Jason Moore would need to finish in the top 14 – regardless of what Bradshaw achieved and, in a style that recently crowned Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton would be proud of, Moore drove a cautious race, conceding track position to Palmer and Alex Brundle to come home sixth and become the champion.

Moore enters the Great Room at Grosvenor House tonight with a genuine shot at taking the big prize. Regardless of whether he takes the Award or not, his consistency in this year's FPA campaign marks him out as a talent for the future.

Some of the stars of motorsport now arriving at the Grosvenor House Hotel include David Coulthard, Murray Walker and Martin Brundle.

Stefan Wilson

One year ago Stefan Wilson stepped on to the stage here at the Grosvenor House as the delighted winner of the 2007 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, following a promising season where he took four wins in the Formula Palmer Audi series.

Stefan – the younger brother of ex-Formula One driver Justin Wilson – has completed another season of learning and progression since that momentous night 12 months ago. He moved up to British Formula Three this year with the Fluid Motorsport squad, competing in the National Class.

The 19-year-old's first season in Formula Three ended with 13 top-five finishes out of the 20 races in the campaign. His season started a little slowly as he got used to his new environment, but soon the results came. A podium in just his fifth race in the series was topped later in the year with four wins and three pole positions.

Autosport.com Live asked British Formula Three spokesman Jeff Carter for his thoughts on Wilson's progress this year.

“Stefan did seem to struggle earlier in the season, more than his teammate Jay Bridger," said Carter. "But he did get to grips with the car by Round 10, taking his first win at Snetterton. We also have to remember that Fluid Motorsport had been running the Lola-Dome chassis prior to this season and their main rivals all had previous experience with the Dallara chassis, so this may have part of the early season pace problem.

"Bridger did a better job throughout the year, that is why he is the 2008 Champion, but this was probably the most competitive season for many years in both the National and International Classes. If Stefan decides to stay in British F3, I firmly believe that with the experience gained this season, he will be the front runner for the National Class title or a contender for race wins in the International Class."

The highlight of the evening as always will be the presentation of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

The idea to reward an outstanding young British driver was first conceived in 1989, and has since correctly identified a host of motor racing talent. David Coulthard - then the British Formula Ford champion - was the first recipient. Dario Franchitti, Ralph Firman, Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson are just some of the names who have won this prestigious Award since its inception.

As motor racing generated more and more television coverage, the Autosport Awards grew both in size and stature, into the major end-of-season event that we know today.

The prize awarded to the annual winner of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award has also grown, and is fiercely sought-after. This year the chosen driver will receive the following:

• £50,000 towards their racing future
• Full membership of the British Racing Drivers Club
• An Aston Martin DRB9 GT1 test
• Puma racewear for a year
• A TW Steel watch
• A test in a McLaren Mercedes Formula One car

Tonight, Autosport celebrates a landmark 20th McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

Tonight's awards presentation takes place in two parts. The first set of Awards will be presented around 20:45 GMT, during the time that the invited guests are seated for dinner.

The main part of the ceremony takes place at 22:00 GMT, building up to the announcement of the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner at the end of the evening.

Lewis Hamilton

2008 has produced another wonderful motorsport year, and this evening we celebrate the achievements and dedication of those who bring the sport to life.

The Formula One world championship was decided on the final lap of the last race in Brazil, providing thrilling entertainment and a new British world champion.

The World Rally champion wasn't known until the penultimate round of the season in Japan. North American open-wheel racing took a significant step forward with the merger of ChampCar and the Indy Racing League.

Audi and Peugeot dueled across the globe for honours in sports prototype racing, culminating in one of the most dramatic Le Mans 24 hour races ever. NASCAR saw its worldwide profile lifted to new heights with the arrival of international racing stars.

In the tin-tops, the British and World Touring Car Championships saw the titles decided on the final day of the season. Formula Three across Europe thrived with emerging talents, and further down the racing ladder new stars were born in Formula Ford, Formula Renault and Formula Palmer Audi.

Indeed, it has been a great season for our sport, and tonight we invite you to break open your favourite tipple, and raise a glass, with us, to the drivers and personalities that made 2008 such a successful year.

You can join in the proceedings and feel part of the event tonight, by sharing your views regarding the awards and reacting to events as they happen on the stage.

Who will become the International Racing Driver of the Year? Will the 2008 Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton, sweep the board as he did with a record three Awards in 2007?

Most importantly, who is going to have their name etched on the most coveted trophy of them all – the Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award for 2008?

The answers to these and many more questions will be revealed over the next five hours of coverage, exclusively live from the Grosvenor House Hotel.

If you are an autosport.com forum member, then click on the 'SHOW LIVE FORUM' link below to begin discussion on the event as it happens.

Good evening everyone and a very warm welcome to the 2008 Autosport Awards, brought to you in association with Motor City Dubai, from the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, central London.

Since 1982, the world's leading motorsport weekly has celebrated the outstanding achievements of drivers across the racing spectrum, as well as the cars, teams and technical innovations that have become the talk of the sport.

Tonight, the 27th edition of this prestigious awards ceremony will take place, and you will find out who the winners are, live, right here on autosport.com.