Crash.net's Top 100 Drivers and Riders of 2019: 80-61

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 60-41 entries, and let us know in the comments if we’ve made the right choices.

80. Robin Frijns – 4th in 2018/19 Formula E season

Robin Frijns enjoyed his best-ever season during the 2018/19 Formula E campaign by taking fourth in the championship standings for the Envision Virgin Racing squad. Frijns managed four podiums in total and claimed a pair of victories in Paris and the New York finale to score a total of 106 points, just two points shy of third-placed driver Lucas di Grassi. Frijns also outscored teammate and Formula E veteran Sam Bird by 21 points as the British outfit secured third spot in the teams’ standings.

79. Timmy Hansen - 1st in World Rallycross Championship

When your father is a 14-time rallycross champion, there’s a certain level of pressure - but Timmy Hansen took it all in his stride through 2019 as he clinched his first world title. Hansen took four wins en route to the championship, secured in dramatic fashion as he recovered from contact with rival Andreas Bakkerud to finish P4 in the final heat, tying the Dane for points before snatching the crown on countback.

78. Mitch Evans - 5th in 2018/19 Formula E season

Given Jaguar’s struggles through Season 5 of Formula E, for Mitch Evans to have come away with one race win and a string of points finishes speaks volumes about how impressive his year was. Evans was remarkably consistent through his campaign, scoring points in all but three races as teammates Nelson Piquet Jr. and Alex Lynn both failed to match him for pace. The Kiwi is showing all the hallmarks of a Formula E front-runner if his equipment is up to the job.

77. Lorenzo Baldassarri - 7th in Moto2

A stunning start to 2019 saw Lorenzo Baldassarri take three wins from the opening four races to grab the early Moto2 points lead but in a frustrating campaign for the Italian rider he failed to appear on the podium for the rest of the season. As a result the 23-year-old duly slipped out of the title contention and also failed to better his 2018 campaign (fifth place) as he ended the year down in seventh place.

76. Sam Bird – 9th in 2018/19 Formula E season

8th in the championship with just one victory to his name does not tell the full story of Sam Bird’s 2018/19 Formula E season. The Briton suffered from much misfortune throughout the year and could only muster 85 points to his name. After winning at the third attempt in Santiago, Bird thought he had added another victory in Hong Kong, only to be disqualified after late contact with Andre Lotterer, while a trio of collisions (and no points finishes) across European rounds in Rome, Paris and Monaco hurt Bird’s title bid, having led the championship after the first five rounds. Bird kicked off the 2019/20 season with victory in Saudi Arabia to become the first driver in FE history to win at least one race in every season he has contested.

75. John McPhee - 5th in Moto3

After a journeyman career so far in Moto3, John McPhee appears to have found ‘home’ with the Sepang-run Petronas Sprinta Racing squad as he produced his most impressive campaign to date. The Scottish rider secured the team’s first-ever Moto3 win, and the second of his career, and was a regular front-runner in the frantic and unpredictable championship. While never truly seen as a title contender in 2019, McPhee’s fifth place in the final standings caught the eye and with the top 3 moving up to Moto2 for 2020 it means only Tony Arbolino finished ahead of him on the current grid and a title challenge will be expected next year.

74. Alessandro Pier Guidi - 2nd in WEC GTE-Pro 2018/19; 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner

It’s strange to think there was a time when Alessandro Pier Guidi wasn’t a shoo-in as a Ferrari factory driver. He was on song yet again through 2019 alongside James Calado in the AF Corse #51 car as the pair ended the WEC season strongly, taking a superb GTE-Pro class victory at Le Mans en route to P2 in the standings behind the runaway Porsche drivers. A tricky start to the ‘19-20 campaign has left Pier Guidi on the back foot in the title race, but he and Calado remain forces in the category.

73. James Calado - 2nd in WEC GTE-Pro 2018/19; 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner

Calado’s role in AF Corse’s recent success cannot be understated. His long stint with the factory programme was finally rewarded with a maiden Le Mans class victory in 2019 alongside Pier Guidi and Daniel Serra in the #51 entry. The Briton has also now moved into Formula E with Jaguar, marking a return to single-seaters for the first time in six years.

72. Franco Morbidelli - 10th in MotoGP

A tough rookie MotoGP campaign with Marc VDS left Franco Morbidelli with much to prove but a move to the new-look satellite Yamaha team allowed the former Moto2 world champion to demonstrate his credentials in the premier class. As a consistent top eight finisher, the Italian helped Petronas Yamaha secure the Independent teams’ title but his year was overshadowed by his superstar teammate Fabio Quartararo.

71. Luca Ghiotto - 3rd in Formula 2

Luca Ghiotto’s experience shone through in F2 this year as he emerged as a front-runner, taking two poles, four wins and five further podiums en route to third in the standings. The Italian almost beat F1-bound Nicholas Latifi to P2 overall, but can nevertheless be proud of his final year in the category ahead of a switch to sports cars where he will surely be a coveted asset.

70. Daniil Kvyat – 13th in Formula 1

After being demoted and dropped from the Red Bull programme, Daniil Kvyat returned to the Red Bull fold to complete Toro Rosso’s 2019 driver line-up alongside rookie Alexander Albon. The Russian notched up 37 points across the campaign as he finished the year 13th in the championship, marking his best year in F1 since his first season at Red Bull in 2015. The standout moment of Kvyat’s 2019 came in Germany, where he and Toro Rosso made the most of unpredictable weather and a crazy race to claim a remarkable third place finish, sealing the Faenza-based outfit’s first podium in a decade.

69. Jorge Navarro - 4th in Moto2

In what started as a make-or-break year for Jorge Navarro, a move to the Speed Up chassis paid off as he became a consistent podium finisher with eight rostrums to his name in 2019. The 23-year-old also claimed four pole positions, exploiting the Speed Up’s strong single-llap pace and sticking with the Italian manufacturer for 2020 means he should enter the Moto2 title talk.

68. Antonio Felix da Costa – 6th in 2018/19 Formula E season

Antonio Felix da Costa was one of the standout performers across 2018/19 as he took sixth place in the championship, finishing just 37 points behind champion Jean-Eric Vergne. da Costa kicked off the season in the perfect way by converting pole position into a convincing victory over Vergne at the Aid Diriyah opener, before suffering back-to-back retirements in Marrakesh and Santiago. Three further podium outings came with second place in Mexico and two third-place finishes in Sanya and New York, while a disqualification from sixth in Monaco for running in too high a power mode proved costly to his overall standing at the end of the year. A move to partner Vergne at reigning champion squad Techeetah followed for 2019-20.

67. Fernando Alonso - FIA WEC LMP1 champion, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

Fernando Alonso holds a perfect record for races he took part in through 2019. Admittedly, he only took the green flag for five events, and four of them were in the WEC where there was only one other car to realistically beat. But to end a year with victories at Sebring, Spa, Le Mans and, most impressively, Daytona, where Alonso single-handedly won Wayne Taylor Racing the race, still deserves credit. His mercurial talent wasn’t enough to spare McLaren’s Indy 500 blushes, but Alonso still ends the year with his stock high and more trophies in his cabinet.

66. Nicholas Latifi – 2nd in Formula 2

In his third year in Formula 2 and at DAMS, Nicholas Latifi turned in his best season to date to secure second-place in the championship. Latifi was the driver to beat at the start of 2019 as he claimed three victories from the opening five rounds to open up an early title lead, before his form dipped as the year progressed. A nightmare point-less weekend in Monaco was a turning point as Nyck de Vries began to establish his authority over the field, eventually storming to the championship by 52 points. Latifi got back to winning ways in the Hungary feature race and took three second place finishes in the second half of the campaign as he secured graduation to Formula 1 with Williams for 2020.

65. Josh Brookes - 2nd in British Superbikes

Teaming up with Be Wiser Ducati alongside ex-MotoGP star Scott Redding turned out to be the dream team in BSB for 2019 with the Paul Bird Motorsport-run squad winning 21 out of 27 races. Josh Brookes, looking for his second BSB title, took the championship fight to the wire but the Australian rider came up five points short behind Redding. A double DNF at Silverstone and crashes at Donington Park and Oulton Park proved costly but for the majority of the campaign Redding appeared to have the edge on his team-mate at the pivotal moments.

64. Tony Arbolino - 4th in Moto3

Given all eyes were on the return of controversial teammate Romano Fenati at the start of 2019 at the VNE Snipers squad, Tony Arbolino became a standout surprise in 2019 on his way to fourth place in the riders’ championship. After two years of underwhelming results in Moto3, the Italian’s make-or-break season truly took off with an emotional maiden win coming in the stunning setting of his home round at Mugello. A second win at Assen followed by four straight rostrums between Brno and Misano launched the 19-year-old into the title picture but a total of just 22 points scored over the final six races saw him fade off. Sticking with the Snipers squad for 2020, a world title bid will be expected.

63. George Russell – 20th in Formula 1

Along with fellow F2 graduates Lando Norris and Alexander Albon, Mercedes junior George Russell entered his rookie F1 campaign with much hype and expectation after triumphing to back-to-back titles in GP3 and F2. Despite finding himself anchored to the back of the grid in uncompetitive machinery at Williams, Russell dominated teammate Robert Kubica across the season and completed a qualifying clean sweep over the Pole, having outpaced Kubica at each of the 21 rounds on a Saturday. Russell ended the year last in the championship due to Kubica scoring Williams’ only point in a crazy race in Germany. Otherwise, Russell was comprehensively ahead of Kubica in all areas in what proved to be an highly-impressive and consistent maiden grand prix season.

62. Richard Lietz - 3rd in WEC GTE-Pro 2018/19; Spa 24 winner

Richard Lietz was one of the leading GT drivers in global motorsport this year with Porsche. While he may have missed out on the WEC GTE-Pro title to the sister Porsche crew, Lietz ended the season strongly alongside Gianmaria Bruni as they took the win at Sebring and P2 at Le Mans, followed by victory to start the ‘19-20 season at Silverstone. Lietz was also part of the Spa 24-winning team for Porsche alongside WEC champions Michael Christensen and Kevin Estre.

61. Joan Mir - 12th in MotoGP

A solid rookie MotoGP season for Joan Mir who gathered pace and performance as the year progressed. Despite the wind being taken out of his sails, quite literally with heavy lung bruising suffered in a testing crash at Brno, Mir missed two rounds but recovered strongly with Suzuki and ended the year with five consecutive top 10 finishes - a feat on bettered by Marquez, Dovizioso and Rins. While Mir was overshadowed by standout rookie Fabio Quartararo, 12th place in the overall standings (including two missed races) made for an impressive first year in the top class.