The drivers most voted on Social Networks in 2022

Once again for the 2022 edition, the Vroom special exceeded expectations by bordering on 6,000 votes collected from the web.
The supporters of the drivers selected by Vroom, featuring both FIA Karting champions and winners from the Rotax Grand Finals, enlivened for 4 days our social platform, confirming the great passion that revolves around this motorsport discipline.

Final Standings
MATHEUS MORGATTO 2661
Martim Marques 1289
Mark Kimber 435
Viktor Gustavsson 333
Joel Bergstrom 295
Scott Marsh 174
Jeeper Sjoeberg 141
Anatoly Khavalkin 86
Christopher El Feghali 33
Enzo Tarnavanichkul 22
Tom Leuillet 22
Callum Bradshaw 22
Kristops Gasparovics 22
Paolo Ippolito 17
Kean Nakamura-Berta 14
Arthur Carbonnell 7
 

1st Matheus Morgatto
The four days of voting saw continuous changes at the top of the list, and the victory in the end was determined by a last major roundup of votes that decreed Matheus Morgatto the winner of the Vroom Awards 2022. 

The interview:
- Matheus, you are the Driver of the Year according to Vroom readers. Did you expect this?
«My expectations were really high after being crowned World champion. Really happy that it got people voting on me».
- What did it mean for you and Brazil to win the World Championship?
«It was something really important for myself, for my career and for Brazil. 24 years that Brazil didn't win this championship and being able to be the one who takes the title after 24 years is really important for me. At the end, it is also a title that Senna always wanted to have and the best he could was to be second».
- What was the best and worst moment of your 2022?
«The best moment was to win the world championship, and the worst is all the hard work that you need to put to succeed. I'm happy that with all the work the result paid off».
-We saw that you did some tests in the car; where will we see you next year?
«For sure you will see me driving some KZ but I still have some plans of cars to be confirmed ».


2nd Martim Marques
Matheus Morgatto's victory was not as obvious as it may seem from the standings, because until the last day at the top reigned little Martim Marques, immediately idol of Portuguese fans, having conquered the Rotax Grand Finals in Portimao in the Micro MAX category in front of his own audience.
Martim commented thanking his supporters, his team and his mechanics, which allowed him to gain the access  to the Rotax Grand Finals and to this nomination.
He also said that, regarding 2023, he will go up in category competing in the JUNIOR ROTAX Portuguese Championship.


3rd Mark Kimber
The third step of the podium belongs to Britain's Mark Kimber, also the Rotax Grand Finals champion in a fierce DD2.
Mark commented on this result saying that he was not expecting such a good finish in the Vroom Awards despite his great result in the DD2 Rotax Grand Finals.
Talking about next year, he is still uncertain about what he is going to do, but he supposed that he could step back for a while or maybe do a small campaign.


4th Viktor Gustavvson
The KZ World Champion makes his debut in this virtual competition with the certificate of appreciation from his supporters and fans thanks also to the performance produced by the Swede of CRG protagonist of the most exciting race of the season.
Viktor commented saying that having so many people supporting him warms his heart.
He enlightened how the great work done this year with CRG, that managed to build one of the strongest line-up on the grid, will be important for the new season, in which he expects to be in the front and fight again for the win.


5th Joel Bergstrom
Once again this year, the all-electric category, Rotax E20, returns to star in our special rankings. Last year with Oscar Pellemele, this year with Joel Bergstrom, a now well-known face of FIA Karting competitions making his debut with the new frontier of karting. The Swedish driver was not long in coming to Portimao, leaving everyone speechless in the very final, valid for the Rotax Grand Finals championship title, confirming the validity of the product and the total adaptation in a short term even for a seasoned driver in the Junior and Senior classes. All in all, a positive season also in FIA Karting with excellent placings and the 2023 contract already signed with the currently champion team.
Joel said that he was never expecting a top 5 finish in the Vroom Awards and that he is really happy about that.
He also commented how fun to drive an electric kart is, and how he had to readapt his driving style compared to the OK that he is used to.


BEST OUTSIDERS
As every year we let our readers express a preference also for a pilot not in our list. Among them, the most voted was American Caleb Gafrarar, who has been present in FIA Karting races for a few seasons now with the last year also in the FIA Academy Trophy and above all American Skusa Protour champion after successes in the minor categories. Following among the best were Evan Giltaire, Riccardo Nalon and Rodrigo Seabra.


READ THE FULL ARTICLE WITH INTERVIEWS ON pocketmags.com/vroom-international-magazine