Rookie of the Year vote

Perhaps more than ever this year the door is wide open for any of the six candidates to scoop the prize at our glittering awards ceremony in London on December 5.

Last year's winner Dan Wheldon justified your faith in him, as the young Briton went on to finish runner-up in his second season in the IRL IndyCar Series. Other previous winners include Jenson Button, Juan Pablo Montoya and Mark Webber.

Choose from the following star names and register your vote via the link below. You can vote for...

- Life alongside Mark Webber is never easy, but showed his growing maturity with a sixth place finish in Spa. Although he looked a little wayward at the start of the season, the young Austrian coped well with the highly politicised environment that became the Jaguar Racing 'sinking ship' and by season's end had become a solid points-chaser.

- This year Manning was given a crack at the IRL with Ganassi Racing and he grabbed it with both hands. He ended the season as highest-scoring rookie in the IndyCar Series, and not only that his team-mate, the reigning champ Scott Dixon, only just finished ahead of him in the standings despite Darren missing the last race.

- Touted the brightest American road racing prospect in a generation, Allmendinger lived up to the hype and bagged Rookie of the Year honours with a race to spare. Raw aggression sometimes got the better of him, but mistakes were admitted with a refreshing candour and seldom repeated. A class act.

- A rookie in no more than name, this accomplished F1 refugee provided the perfect yardstick for Allmendinger. The pair enjoyed some great battles - notably an intense race-long duel at Portland - but Wilson had one hand tied behind his back driving for the underfinanced Conquest Racing team, and did well to stay in touch and score a podium.

- Made a big impression in his first BTCC season, winning twice and summoning up comparable pace to established class act and SEAT team-mate Jason Plato. He was also an entertaining and determined battler in the traditional BTCC rough and tumble. In short he's got all the potential to be a world-class tin-top performer.

- Speaking of world class performers - rarely has a rookie shaken the establishment quite like Dodge's NASCAR Nextel Cup star Kahne. Possibly the unluckiest driver in the series, he finished runner-up no less than five times, twice in a photo-finish. But make no mistake this guy is going to win races one day. Lots of them.