Freshly crowned Supercars Championship winner Shane van Gisbergen and his WRC Kiwi compatriots Hayden Paddon and John Kennard have been nominated for New Zealand Sportsman of the Year.
The Halberg Awards for high performance sport, sees the trio among 22 athletes in contention for the awards which acknowledges 31 different sports.
In total, the 54th Halberg Awards have attracted 87 nominations for six categories.
Finalists will be announced early in the New Year ahead of the awards ceremony on February 9.
Hyundai World Rally Championship factory driver Paddon and co-driver Kennard are also in contention for the Team of the Year award, which the pair previously won in 2012.
Paddon and Kennard, who won the PWRC in 2011, broke through for their maiden WRC victory at Rally Argentina.
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Van Gisbergen became the first Kiwi since Jim Richards 25 years ago to win the Supercars Championship.
“Hayden Paddon, John Kennard and Shane van Gisbergen continue to demonstrate their incredible talents, with higher and higher achievements each year of their careers,” Wayne Christie, President of MotorSport New Zealand, said.
“We were delighted to put their names forward to the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation for this year’s Halberg Awards.”
IndyCar superstar Scott Dixon is New Zealand motorsport’s most recognised athlete in the Halberg Awards, winning the Sportsman of the Year title in 2008 and 2013.
After winning a fourth IndyCar title, Dixon was a finalist in 2015.
The last motorsport competitor to win the Supreme Halberg Award was the multiple world speedway champion Ivan Mauger (1977 and 1979).
New Zealand’s only Formula 1 champion Denny Hulme landed the Supreme Award in 1967.
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