Van Leeuwen picked up the gong for the fourth time in his distinguished career.
He also received the News Story of the Year Award for reporting the bombshell story of Brodie Kostecki’s split with Erebus Motorsport prior to the 2024 Supercars season start.
‘AVL’ accepted the award at Doltone House in Sydney on Sunday night following the opening round of the 2025 Supercars Championship.
“It really is an honour to be up here sharing the stage with so many people who have achieved so much in the last 12 months,” said van Leeuwen.
“Thank you to Motorsport Australia and the voting committee for this award.
“Thank you to Speedcafe, the ownership group led by Karl Begg for entrusting me to run their website, and to the great people I work with.
“As everyone in this room knows, doing the job well is so much easier when you have a good team behind you and I’ve really got that, so thank you very much.”
Van Leeuwen, Stefan Bartholomaeus, Mat Coch and Speedcafe alumnus Tom Howard have all won MA’s Journalist of the Year Award while working for the website.
Other media recognised on Sunday included Thomas Lam (Photograph of the Year, for a snap of Todd Hazelwood’s Bathurst 1000 celebrations) and Daniel Kalisz (Photographer of the Year).
The Best Use of Digital Media Award went to Tickford Racing, whose blend of high-production values and humorous content made them a popular choice.
Supercars TV pundit Mark Larkham took out the Personality of the Year honour.
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