Wheldon excited about title defence

Wheldon beat off a host of British racing stars, including Jenson Button and World Touring Car Champion Andy Priaulx, for the accolade after his IRL title success and Indianapolis 500 victory in 2005.

And he claims the support he received at the Grosvenor House event, as well as the reminders about his Indy 500 win, has more than justified his reasoning for staying in the IRL next year.

When asked by autosport.com about winning the Award as a non-F1 driver he said: "It does make it feel special, but it makes you realise how big the Indy 500 is.

"There were a lot of the most respected people in motor racing in that room and to be able to stand up there in front of them as an Indy 500 winner says a lot.

"It has also made me realise how excited I am about next year."  

Wheldon turned down the chance to become a test driver for the BMW-Sauber team in favour of a deal with Chip Ganassi Racing.

And he is confident that he has made the right decision despite the great success he enjoyed with his old team Andretti Green Racing.

"I am very excited about driving for Chip Ganassi and everyone there," he said. "It is going to be different.

"I was very fond of everyone at Andretti Green Racing and when you start off your IndyCar career as a rookie and spend three good years there it is difficult to leave. But at the same time Chip's operation is very good.

"Jimmy Vasser won there, Alex Zanardi won there, Juan Pablo Montoya won there, and Scott Dixon won there - so that is a team that knows how to win and that is what I am all about. I like to win races and I would not be going there if I did not think I could."

Although Wheldon's form from 2005 means that he will be regarded as favourite for next year's IRL title, he believes that the championship will be much more closely fought.

"It is difficult to predict a favourite," he said. "Right now, the way I look at it is that if you look at my statistics then I have no wins, no podiums and no points with Chip Ganassi, so I need to establish some good results.

"It is going to be much closer than it has ever been, because everyone is using Honda. But I am happy to continue my relationship with Honda because I have a very good one. I know how consistent they provide their engines, so probably 19 or 20 people are going to have exactly the same as me."