There are several strong candidates in this category with drivers across the globe putting in world class performances in a variety of GT3 and GTE machinery:
IMSA GTD Pro Champion Ben Barnicoat was as stellar as usual in his march to the title for Vasser Sullivan in the mighty Lexus RC F GT3.
In the parallel GTD class, Madison Snow was super strong en route to the title with Paul Miller Racing – he steps up with the team to GTD Pro in 2024.
Thomas Preining took a first DTM title for Porsche with some very strong efforts in 2023 and Dan Harper powered through a field dripping in factory talent to take the British GT Championship in 2023 with an astounding run in the season finale.
That leaves two prime contenders for the nod here in our eyes.
The first is the force of racing nature that is Raffaele Marciello, he edges fellow AMG factory man Jules Gounon out of second place here – just! A back-to-back title win in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup included a pair of wins and a fighting second place at Spa, there were race wins in the Sprint Cup too en route to a runner-up slot and a much prized victory, his second, around the streets of Macau for the FIA GT World Cup.
In any other year that would have been more than enough to take the win here – but not in 2023.
That’s because of an extraordinary season from Nicky Catsburg, who took five major crowns in four different cars.
His 2023 started with a dominant run in the Asian Le Mans Series, helping Walkenhorst Motorsport to the title in its BMW M4 GT3.
Next up the Nurburgring 24 Hours and an historic win with Frikadelli Racing in its Ferrari 296 GT3.
He then made it a win double in major 24 hour races with the victory at Le Mans as part of what would become the WEC Championship winning GTE AM squad for Corvette Racing with the Corvette C8.R, before wrapping up his major honours tally with a Pro-Am class win at the Spa 24 Hours as part of the SunEnergy1 squad in a Mercedes AMG GT3.
Throughout he has displayed astounding speed and consistency with some excellent defensive drives in the WEC that played a major role in securing the title.
His efforts have earned him the nod from Corvette as a full-season factory driver in IMSA’s GTD Pro class for 2024. Well deserved!
