Shane van Gisbergen announced as finalist for 61st Halberg Awards

Reigning Bathurst 1000 champion Shane van Gisbergen has been announced as a finalist in the “Sportsman of the Year” category for the 61st Halberg Awards. The Halberg Awards is New Zealand’s leading annual event to honour and celebrate New Zealand’s sporting excellence.

van Gisbergen’s third Supercars title in 2022 fell inside of the 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023 eligibility window, meaning his 2022 Supercars title, 2023 Bathurst 1000 victory and debut NASCAR win were all considered by the judging panel.

Other finalists in van Gisbergen’s category are squash player, Paul Coll, cyclist, Aaron Gate, All Black, Ardie Savea, and golf pro, Ryan Fox.

“It’s great that the Halberg Foundation has once again recognised Shane’s extraordinary motorsport achievements,” said MotorSport New Zealand CEO Elton Goonan.

“New Zealand has such a depth of motorsport talent and a huge number of success stories at the pinnacle of the sport.

“Shane has an incredible ability behind the wheel, he is instantly competitive in the wide range of vehicles and motorsport disciplines. We’ve seen his success in Supercars, open wheelers at the New Zealand Grand Prix, the World Rally Championship and now NASCAR.

“He is very deserving of this finalist selection and I know the entire motorsport community in New Zealand, and abroad, will have their fingers crossed when the winner is announced.”

This is van Gisbergen’s second time as a finalist in as many years in the “Sportsman of the Year” category and the sixth consecutive time motorsport has been represented as a finalist. Van Gisbergen is also eligible for the Supreme Halberg Award.

The winners of the 61st Halberg Awards will be announced at an awards evening on 14 February 2023 in Auckland which will be broadcast live on Sky Sport and free to air on Sky Open.