THE RACE TORQUE has been recognised as one of the premier outlets covering the Repco Supercars Championship, at the 2020 Supercars Media Awards held on Thursday night.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS of a media industry covering a year unlike any other have been celebrated at the ninth annual Supercars Media Awards, supported by Castrol and Hino. 

The awards, first held in 2012, recognise the high-quality output from publications and media members covering the Repco Supercars Championship and associated events and categories across the calendar year. 

Traditionally presented at the final round of the Supercars Championship, befitting of the times the 2020 awards were held virtually via Zoom. 

TRT was ranked third in the ‘Best publication covering Supercars’ this year, just behind winner Speedcafe.com and Auto Action Magazine.

Motorsport.com journalist Andrew van Leeuwen won the prestigious Journalist of the Year, his first individual Supercars Media Award. 

Van Leeuwen was recognised for his outstanding reporting on the 2020 championship for the global outlet, delivering Supercars content to an international audience throughout the season. 

Four-time Journalist of the year winner Mark Fogarty, from Auto Action, and newcomer Simon Chapman from Speedcafe.com were also recognised for their outstanding efforts throughout 2020.  

Van Leeuwen was also recognised for the ‘Best Supercars News Story’ of the year, for his outstanding reporting of the Victorian-based Supercars team’s border dash during the early stages of Melbourne’s second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Finally, van Leeuwen’s outstanding night was completed as the winner of the ‘Best Supercars Feature story’, his July 17 motorsport.com feature that documented ‘The most extraordinary day in Supercars history’ – as Melbourne-teams escaped Victoria. 

AA’s ‘Where to next for Supercars’ feature, by Mark Fogarty, was highly commended as was the publication ‘Seto: The official racing history of Glenn Seton’ by Stefan Bartholomaeus and published by the V8 Sleuth team. 

Speedcafe.com were awarded ‘Best publication reporting on Supercars’for their extensive coverage of the 2020 championship, both at events and via news coverage in between rounds. It represents Speedcafe.com’s first Supercars Media Award in this category. Defending winners Auto Action and specialty publication The Race Torque were highly commended for their efforts. 

Long-time Supercars snapper Mark Horsburgh won his secondPhotographer of the Yearaward, his outstanding body of work covering the remarkable 2020 Supercars championship – a season where at some rounds he was the only accredited photographer – recognised by the judging panel. 

Horsburgh narrowly edged out Dirk Klynsmith for the coveted award, with Rhys Vandersyde also recognised.  

In a productive season, Horsburgh also picked up the award for2020 Supercars Photo of the Year. 

Mark Larkham was votedBroadcaster of the yearby the judging panel, his second-straight victory. 

The ever-popular reporter was at his best form throughout 2020 as he worked the Supercars pit lane for Fox Sports and Channel 10. Neil Crompton and Chad Neylon were also recognised on the evening. 

Supercars media manager Paul Glover was awardedMedia Manager of the Yearfor the first time, as recognition for his efforts navigating Supercars media coverage throughout the 2020 season. 

Tickford Racing’s Mitch Robinson and Kelly Racing Media Manager Aiden Taylor were also commended. 

Greg Rust picked up his second‘Best Radio Program / Podcast’Media Award for his Rusty’s Garage podcast. 

Rust, who won the award in 2018 for the same program, edged out the most competitive field ever nominated for a Supercars Media Award. Six podcasts polled votes, with the V8 Sleuth Podcast and ‘Parked Up’ on the podium alongside Rusty’s Garage. 

Supercars media and Tickford Racing shared the honours in theBest Feature, Promotional Video or TV programcategory – Supercars for their behind-the-scenes look at Mark Horsburgh’s work and Tickford for their excellent content produced at SeaWorld, their Queensland base while away from home. 

AME Management were recognised for their outstanding ‘Holden Motorsport Memories’ series in theBest in-broadcast or digital feature/news story. 

For their efforts documenting their travels and challenges throughout the incredible year, Kelly Racing were recognised as winners in the ‘Most outstanding use of Social of Digital Media’category. As well as an in-depth document of the build of their new Ford Mustangs, the team took social media audiences on the road during their extensive road trip across Australia this year. 

Tickford Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering were also commended for their Social / Digital efforts throughout 2020. 

Highly respected motoring and motorsport journalist Bruce Newton, and Photographer Paul Cross, were inducted into the Supercars Media Awards hall of fame. 

For more information on the Supercars Media Awards, please visithttp://supercarsmediaawards.com.au/.