Crash.net's Top 100 of 2019: 100-81

Crash.net is unveiling its top 100 drivers and riders from across the motorsport world from 2019 with a countdown on each day until New Year’s Eve! Check back tomorrow for the top 80-61 entries, and let us know in the comments if we’ve made the right choices.

100. Alex Palou - 3rd in Super Formula

Prior to 2019, Alex Palou was arguably best-known for being a journeyman of junior formulae, dotting around F3 series and even making a cameo in Formula 2 at the end of 2017. But this was the year it all came together for the 22-year-old, who found success where so many before him had failed to. Palou took three poles and one win en route to third in the final Super Formula standings, losing out at the final round in the title race to veterans Nick Cassidy and Naoki Yamamoto. It was enough to secure a move into IndyCar for 2020, where he will hope to continue to shine.

99. Enea Bastianini - 10th in Moto2

Having narrowly missed out on the top rookie status in Moto2 for 2019 to Fabio Di Giannantonio, the Italian rider still surpassed some big names and experienced hands in the intermediate class on his way to 10th place in the riders’ final standings. The highlight of Enea Bastianini’s year was his maiden podium from Brno as he saw off Jorge Navarro by a fraction to take third place after clawing his way up from 18th.

98. Jorge Martin - 11th in Moto2

Another Moto2 rookie who impressed despite a difficult season with the underperforming KTM package. Jorge Martin showed his 2018 Moto3 title-winning class as the season progressed resulting in a pair of podiums in Japan and Australia before fifth place in the Valencia finale saw the Spaniard the second-best KTM rider only behind team-mate and MotoGP-bound Brad Binder.

97. Tom Sykes - 8th in World Superbikes

A move to the new BMW team gave the 2013 World Superbike champion a fresh start. While getting the new S1000RR up to speed despite being down on power Tom Sykes still secured a quartet of rostrum appearances plus a customary Donington Park pole position.

96. Federico Caricasulo - 2nd in World Supersport

Took the World Supersport championship fight down to the wire against Bardahl Evan Bros Yamaha teammate Randy Krummenacher but couldn’t fully overturn the points deficit over the final two rounds meaning he missed out by just six points. Federico Caricasulo did notch up the most podium finishes this year with nine in total highlighted by wins at Assen, Jerez and Portimao - earning him a promotion to the World Superbike championship for 2020.

95. Marcus Armstrong - 2nd in FIA Formula 3; 2nd in Toyota Racing Series

Ferrari junior Marcus Armstrong’s stock rose considerably through an impressive 2019 campaign. Starting with a run to P2 in the Toyota Racing Series in his native New Zealand over the winter, Armstrong was then part of Prema’s dominant FIA Formula 3 campaign, taking three wins en route to second in the standings behind Robert Shwartzman, stepping up his form through the closing rounds of the season with a string of impressive displays. Armstrong will move up to Formula 2 for 2020 with ART Grand Prix, giving him a real shot at becoming a force in the series.

94. Celestino Vietti - 6th in Moto3

After starring in his early Moto3 debut in 2018, Celestino Vietti continued his form into his full rookie campaign with Sky Racing Team VR46. Podiums at Jerez, Montmelo and Motegi ensured the Italian finished the year as top rookie while an impressive pole position in Buriram also caught the eye with his KTM.

93. Nico Muller - 2nd in DTM

He may not have come close to the title behind runaway leader Rene Rast, but Nico Muller turned in the best year of his racing career with a charge to second place in the standings. The Audi driver racked up three wins and a further eight podium appearances to comfortable take P2 overall, including a sequence of six straight rostrums across three race weekends.

92. Dane Cameron - 1st in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

After going through his first winless IMSA season in 2018, Dane Cameron bounced back strongly through 2019 as he spearheaded Acura-Penske’s push to the title. While a first overall win at Daytona still eluded him, Cameron scored three wins alongside Juan Pablo Montoya en route to the overall IMSA title ahead of the Brazilian duo of Felipe Nasr and Pipo Derani.

91. Frederik Vesti - 1st in Formula Regional European Championship

Few drivers can boast the kind of record that Frederik Vesti had in junior motorsport through 2019. As Formula Regional European emerged from the ashes of European F3, Vesti dominated proceedings with 13 wins in 23 races to easily take the title for Prema. Admittedly it was not up against the strongest of fields, but a decent showing at Macau shows Vesti is ready to prove himself in the premier F3 series next year.

90. Matteo Ferrari - 1st in MotoE

Matteo Ferrari was an unknown outsider at the start of the first-ever MotoE World Cup but has gone from rank outsider to history-maker in 2019. A low-key but consistent pair of fifth places over the opening two rounds in Germany and Austria meant a dominant double victory at his home round in Misano took most by surprise as he charged into the points lead. At the season finale double-header a third place and another fifth place duly capped Ferrari’s title triumph by 11 points ahead of ex-MotoGP star Bradley Smith.

89. Tommy Bridewell - 3rd in British Superbikes

A journeyman of the BSB paddock finally found a team which gave him the backing and belief to show his potential. Having comfortably booked a spot in the BSB Showdown with Oxford Racing Ducati, Tommy Bridewell broke a four-and-a-half year stretch without a win at Oulton Park before going on to finish on the podium in six out of seven races in the three-round title decider. Bridewell also made a two-round appearance in World Superbikes as injury stand-in at Team GoEleven Ducati and impressed with three points finishes.

88. Luca Marini - 6th in Moto2

The rider with the most famous sibling in the paddock (Alex Marquez is a close second) continues to climb the ranks in Moto2 ending his fourth full season in the intermediate class in sixth place. Back-to-back wins in Thailand and Japan saw Luca Marini jump up the standings after a consistent but low-key campaign. Podiums at Mugello and Assen were also notable highlights but he never really looked in the title fight at any point this season.

87. Stoffel Vandoorne - 16th in Formula E, 3rd at 24 Hours of Le Mans

Bouncing back from a miserable 2018 that ended in his exit from McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne took advantage of every opportunity that came his way this year. He impressed with HWA Racelab through its debut Formula E season, scoring one pole and one podium to help lay the foundations for the Mercedes factory team. Vandoorne scored a brace of podiums to start the new Formula E season in Diriyah, adding to P3 finishes at Spa and Le Mans in the WEC with SMP Racing. He could rank far higher in our 2020 Top 100.

86. Thomas Luthi - 3rd in Moto2

After a nightmare maiden MotoGP year, Thomas Luthi adapted to life back in Moto2 instantly as one of the early pace-setters thanks to second place in Qatar and a win in the United States. Another consistent points scorer but struggled to keep up with Alex Marquez in the title crunch. Despite ending the year with the quartet of podiums he had to settle for third place overall having slipped behind Brad Binder.

85. Sergio Sette Camara – 4th in Formula 2 

Sergio Sette Camara enjoyed his strongest season in Formula 2 to date with an impressive campaign at DAMS. The Brazilian claimed two victories and scored a further six podiums on his way to claiming fourth in the championship, just 10 points behind teammate and runner-up Nicholas Latifi as both drivers guided DAMS to the teams’ championship. Camara’s first win of the season came in the Red Bull sprint race, before he converted pole position into his maiden feature race triumph at the Abu Dhabi finale.

84. Andreas Bakkerud - 2nd in World Rallycross Championship

The exodus of big names from WRX appeared to open the door for Andreas Bakkerud to finally step up and clinch a maiden title - only for the Dane to lose out by the finest of margins. One win and four additional podiums put him in contention for the title come the finale in South Africa, which ended in dramatic fashion amid contact with title rival Timmy Hansen. Bakkerud finished the race second, but Hansen fought back to P4, meaning he won the title on countback after the pair were tied for points.

83. Randy Krummenacher - 1st in World Supersport

A rider who had struggled to find his best environment gave it an ‘us against them’ within his own team during the 2019 World Supersport title climax. Randy Krummenacher appeared to be easing to the riders’ title thanks to four wins and three runner-ups from the opening seven rounds but pressure and team divisions at Bardahl Evan Bros Yamaha grew with teammate Federico Caricasulo staying in the title frame. But the Swiss rider held his nerve with fifth place at the Qatar finale to take his first world championship crown by just six points.

82. Naoki Yamamoto - 2nd in Super Formula

Naoki Yamamoto was always going to be hard-pressed to emulate his stunning 2018 season that saw him do the double in Super Formula and Super GT - but he gave it a good shot. While his Super GT campaign didn’t go to plan, scoring just two podiums, he once again emerged as one of the top forces in Super Formula even with a switch in teams. Yamamoto narrowly missed out on defending his title, losing out to Nick Cassidy at the final round, but can still be proud of his year. An F1 cameo in FP1 at Suzuka for Toro Rosso is also likely to have helped his stock rise a bit as well.

81. Kimi Raikkonen – 12th in Formula 1

Kimi Raikkonen’s decision to remain in F1 with rebranded midfield outfit Alfa Romeo surprised many in the paddock but the Finn flourished in the less-pressured environment as he vindicated the move, having lost his Ferrari seat to Charles Leclerc. A string of four consecutive points finishes kicked off Raikkonen’s 2019 on the right foot as he convincingly outperformed rookie teammate Antonio Giovinazzi (on Sundays at least). His season highlight came in Brazil as he led Alfa Romeo’s best result of the year with a 4-5 finish, before rounding out the campaign just outside of the championship top 10 – having contributed to 43 points of Alfa’s 57-point haul.