FIA WEC Competitors Honored at Awards Ceremony in Brazil

The FIA World Endurance Championship family gathered at the Casa Fasano in Sao Paulo Monday night to celebrate the end of the 2014 season.

Champions were honored, while several individuals were given special awards to celebrate their achievements over the past year at the top level of endurance racing.

ACO Chief Scrutineer Daniel Perdrix, who is retiring from the FIA WEC after 32 years on the front line of endurance racing, was given a special award – a Porsche race suit signed by all its drivers.

The Gentleman Driver of the Year Award went to G-Drive Racing’s Julien Canal for his first season in LMP2; the French driver, along with Olivier Pla and Roman Rusinov, claimed four victories and seven pole positions in 2014.

The TUDOR Revelation of the Year Award went to Davide Rigon, the AF Corse driver being judged to have made the most marked improvement of any driver on the 2014 FIA WEC grid.

The Man of the Year Award went to Toyota’s Yoshiaki Kinoshita, the driving force behind the Japanese manufacturer’s first World Championship title on tarmac.

However the biggest cheer went to racing legend Tom Kristensen. ‘Mr Le Mans’, who finished on the podium in his last race for Audi on Sunday , was given a special award in recognition of his stellar racing career.

The 2013 World Champion and nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner was given a standing ovation by the 600 guests as he was lifted onto the shoulders of his Audi teammates.

“We are a big family and at at the end of the year we all come together to celebrate what is important to each and every one of us,” said FIA WEC CEO Gerard Neveu.

“The 2014 season has been the best so far but after tonight we will start to look forward to 2015 and make the next step in the story of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Spirit of Le Mans.”

The FIA WEC will return in 2015 with The Prologue at the Circuit Paul Ricard on March 27-28, with the first race of the season at Silverstone on April 12.

(All photos: Richard Washbrooke /AdrenalMedia.com)