Part one features standout individual performances, race winners, and champions domestically and internationally.

The position of some of these exceptional talents shows just how much depth there is across Australia and New Zealand.

CLICK HERE to read how we ranked the achievements of drivers in 2025.

50 – David Sieders

David Sieders was there to pick up the scraps when the V8 SuperUtes Series landed in his lap.

Consistency paid off, and when wheels fell off for Adam Marjoram and Cody Brewczynski, the title was Sieders in the end – the ultimate prize, and proof of a champion’s innings.

49 – Kody Garland

The Aussie Racing Cars title went down to the wire between Kody Garland and Joel Heinrich, ending in a spectacular last lap on the streets of Adelaide.

Heinrich nearly made this year’s Top 50 list, and deserves a mention for his Touring Car Masters title too.

48 – Oliver Wickham

To finish first, first you must finish – and that was certainly the case for Oliver Wickham in the GR Cup, who beat Lincoln Taylor and Jett Murray to the title.

Wickham proved that consistency paid dividends. Though he never won a GR Cup race this season, he showed how to manage a title run to perfection.

47 – Brad Schumacher

Brad Schumacher’s first GT World Challenge Australia title felt like a matter of when, not if.

Alongside Melbourne Performance Centre co-driver and Supercars star Broc Feeney, the pair combined to win the Pro-Am crown in a seaosn that included a nine-race podium streak.

On balance, some could consider Elliott Schutte to be the better amateur driver. However, it was a mistake of his own making that cost him and Arise Racing co-driver Jaxon Evans the title, and for that, Schumacher gets the nod as the champion.

46 – Blake Tracey

If there’s a driver to keep a keen eye on in 2026, it’s Blake Tracey. The little-known Trans Am racer upstaged some of the best this year, starring at The Bend with three straight wins.

Tracey wound up fourth in the Trans Am standings with a late surge. If there were a rising star award in this year’s list, he’d get it.

45 – Nathan Herne

Despite efforts to crack the Supercars scene, Nathan Herne has established himself as something of a Trans Am specialist.

In 2025, he finished runner-up in the series to Bathurst 1000 winner Todd Hazelwood.

It was a solid if unspectacular year that also bore the fruit of being considered for a Supercars co-drive with PremiAir.

44 – Max Geoghegan & Tom Hayman

Though this is strictly speaking a Top 50, it would be unfair to separate Max Geoghegan and Tom Hayman.

They combined to win Monochrome GT4 Australia with Chaz Mostert’s Method Motorsport.

Geoghegan survived a late attack from Miedecke Motorsport’s Rylan Gray at Hampton Downs in an epic conclusion to the title race.

43 – Ryan Yardley

Ryan Yardley is the first New Zealander on this list. A product of the Toyota 86 series across the ditch, Yardley has had a relatively low profile compared to some of his countrymen.

In his debut season, Yardley finished seventh. In his second season, he was series runner-up. On the third time of asking, the Kiwi clinched the title.

It’s that title win that has created an IMSA opportunity. Yardley will make his Daytona 24 debut in 2026.

42 – Molly Taylor

It’s been a relatively quiet year for Molly Taylor, but when she was competing she made sure to grab headlines.

In 2025, she won the inaugural hydrogen-powered Extreme H with Kevin Hansen.

41 – Nash Morris

They say change is as good as a holiday, and a move away from his family-run Super2 team paid dividends for Nash Morris.

With Tickford Racing, Morris proved what many thought he was capable of – winning.

When Morris won at Symmons Plains, PremiAir scratched plans for an evaluation and signed him up to co-drive.

There’s no hiding from the disproportionate dominance of Tickford in 2025, but Morris made the most of it with a win and two second-place finishes to end the season third in the standings.

Stay tuned for the second part of the Speedcafe Driver of the Year on December 28.