Mostert wins Sheene Medal, Kostecki Drivers' Driver at Gala Awards

Following on from his first ever Repco Supercars Championship drivers' title, Brodie Kostecki has received the highest possible accolade from his peers, being voted in as the Drivers’ Driver for 2023.

At Supercars' annual Gala Awards, Kostecki nabbed the top driver-voted gong, while the coveted individual honour went to Chaz Mostert, who received the Barry Sheene Medal.

It’s the first time the Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford Mustang driver has been awarded the Barry Sheene Medal, which is presented to the driver adjudged to have displayed outstanding leadership, media interaction, character, personality, fan appeal and sportsmanship throughout the season.

Mostert was a clear winner in the votes cast by Australian motorsport journalists, after completing a year where he was the most consistent Ford Mustang driver, finishing fourth in the championship standings with six podium finishes.

The 31-year-old Gold Coaster becomes just the fifth driver in history to complete the sweep of the two top driver awards in Supercars, joining Marcos Ambrose, Mark Winterbottom, James Courtney and Scott McLaughlin as dual recipients of the Mike Kable Young Gun Award and the Barry Sheene Medal.

This year’s recipient of the coveted Mike Kable Young Gun Award was teenage star of the combined Dunlop Series, Cameron McLeod.

McLeod is the son of long-time racer and industry veteran Ryan, who claimed pole position for the inaugural second-tier race in 2000, and the grandson of 1987 Bathurst 1000 winner Peter. The 18-year-old Nissan Altima driver finished third in his first full-time season of the Dunlop Super3 Series; however, he did claim eight race wins from 12 starts.

He edged out other youngsters including Super3 Champion Jobe Stewart, and Dunlop Super2 Series drivers Cooper Murray, Zach Bates and one of the two juniors making the jump to the Repco Supercars Championship in 2024, Ryan Wood.

On Supercars' night of nights, Kostecki was overwhelmed to receive the highest honour voted by his peers as the Drivers’ Driver.

It completed a breakout year for the 26-year-old West Australian, who won his first ever drivers’ championship with six victories, his first ever ARMOR ALL Pole Award with 10 pole positions, and 18 podium finishes from 28 races.

His Coca-Cola Racing team, and its owner Betty Klimenko, also claimed their first ever teams’ championship following Kostecki and outgoing teammate Will Brown’s stellar season in their Chevrolet Camaros.

In the fan-voted categories, the VAILO Adelaide 500, attended by an estimated 260,700 fans, won the event of the year award.

NASCAR-bound three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen was voted as the fans' most popular driver for a third consecutive year. The Kiwi great exits Supercars with an incredible 81 wins, 177 podiums and 48 pole positions from 227 round starts and 511 race starts.

Van Gisbergen finished in the top 10 in the drivers’ championship 14 years in a row. He won three Bathurst 1000s, including the 2023 Great Race alongside incoming full-time driver Richie Stanaway.

Van Gisbergen has also helped guide Triple Eight Race Engineering to four teams’ championships after linking with the Brisbane-based squad in 2016.

Several awards were announced over the weekend at the VAILO Adelaide 500.

The Red Bull Ampol Racing Team was the Fans Choice as Best Presented Team for the ninth time.

South Australian youngsters Kai Allen and Jobe Stewart were crowned the Dunlop Super2 and Dunlop Super3 Series Champions respectively.

Eggleston Motorsport claimed the Dunlop Super2 Series Teams’ Championship for 2023, Chevrolet won Manufacturer of the Year, volunteers from the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 won Volunteer Group of the Year and Mark Larkham won the Supercars Media Award.

Teams will now take a short break before returning to prepare for the 2024 Repco Supercars Championship.

The first event of 2024, where Kostecki will begin his drivers’ title defence, will be the Thrifty Bathurst 500 as part of the Bathurst SuperFest.

The Bathurst SuperFest, which includes the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour and the Thrifty Bathurst 500 runs over 10 spectacular days at Mount Panorama from 16-25 February. Tickets are available now through Supercars.com and Ticketek.

2023 Repco Supercars Championship Gala Award Winners

Barry Sheene Medal: Chaz Mostert

Repco Supercars Champion: Brodie Kostecki

Dunlop Team Champion: Coca-Cola Racing by Erebus

Drivers’ Driver: Brodie Kostecki

Mike Kable Young Gun Award: Cameron McLeod

Dunlop Super2 Series Champion: Kai Allen

Dunlop Super3 Series Champion: Jobe Stewart

Dunlop Super2 Series Champion Team: Eggleston Motorsport

ARMOR ALL Pole Champion Award: Brodie Kostecki

ARMOR ALL Dunlop Super2 Series Pole Position Award: Ryan Wood

Champion Manufacturer: Chevrolet

Fans Choice – Best Presented Team: Red Bull Ampol Racing

Fans Choice – Most Popular Driver: Shane van Gisbergen

Best Event of the Year: VAILO Adelaide 500

Best Volunteer Group: Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500

Supercars Media Award: Mark Larkham