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The first active Formula 1 driver to win the Le Mans 24 Hours in more than two decades, Nico Hulkenberg has received a Gregor Grant Award at the Autosport Awards.
The Force India F1 driver won the sportscar classic in June with Porsche, and received the Autosport accolade from the last man to achieve the feat, 1991 Le Mans winner Johnny Herbert.
Hulkenberg won the race in just his second sportscar outing, having made his LMP1 debut in the Spa round of the World Endurance Championship one month earlier.
The German finished 10th in the F1 drivers' championship, helping Force India secure fifth in the constructors' race.
"Winning Le Mans is the biggest achievement of my career so far," said Hulkenberg on stage
"It was incredible. To come in there not really expecting much and to win with Porsche was phenomenal."
Asked by host Steve Rider what he had learned from his Le Mans experience, Hulkenberg replied: "I think it's about Le Mans and what it really means to so many people on this planet.
"It's such a special and unique race. To be there for the first time, to breathe in the atmosphere and to win it was all very special, and memories that I'll have for the rest of my life.
"There was a very positive echo from winning Le Mans. A lot of [F1] drivers were curious and asking me about it. They're keeping an eye on it."
While an F1 date clash would have stopped Hulkenberg defending the crown he won with Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber, Porsche has since announced it would not field a third car at Le Mans in 2016.
