TouringCarTimes’ Top 30 Drivers of 2025: 30-21

With just a few days left of 2025, it’s time for the 19th annual TouringCarTimes’ rundown of the Top 30 touring car drivers in the world.

Our team of writers have ranked their top performers from the various championships we cover, and here we present the first part of our rundown of the best performers on track.

TouringCarTimes Driver of the Year – Hall of fame

2007 – Mattias Ekström
2008 – Yvan Muller
2009 – Colin Turkington
2010 – Jason Plato
2011 – Rob Huff
2012 – Gordon Shedden
2013 – Jamie Whincup
2014 – José María López
2015 – José María López/Mark Winterbottom
2016 – Shane van Gisbergen
2017 – Norbert Michelisz
2018 – Scott McLaughlin
2019 – Colin Turkington
2020 – René Rast
2021 – Shane van Gisbergen
2022 – Shane van Gisbergen
2023 – Ash Sutton
2024 – Will Brown

First up, positions 30 through to 21 of 2025…

30 – Malte Ebdrup, TCR Denmark Champion with Mascot Motorsport

The TCR Denmark grid may have been low in numbers in 2025 but if anything, it made the battle for the title all the more enthralling given that one poor result could be enough to end a title challenge with so few drivers to take points off each other.

It meant consistency was the order of the day and Malte Ebdrup proved to be the master with an astonishing campaign that saw him finish on the podium in every race bar one – scoring five wins on his way to become the first driver other than team-mate Kasper Jensen to claim the TCR Denmark title.

The title win wasn’t without controversy however, after a clash with Jensen in the Padborg finale that would prove to be crucial in who emerged on top.

29 – Tom Chilton, Seventh in the BTCC with Team VERTU

BTCC veteran Tom Chilton enjoyed his best campaign in the series since 2018 for the EXCELR8-run Team VERTU squad, battling his way to seventh in the standings and helping the team to secure the Manufacturers’/Constructors’ title for the first time.

Wins on both visits to Donington Park were the highlights of a season where Chilton was a regular front-runner, although five retirements – and an unfortunate exclusion at Knockhill – would ultimately prevent him from breaking into the end of season top six.

28 – David Zhu, TCR China Champion with Teamwork Lynk & Co Racing

The fight for the TCR China title would be a hard-fought affair between Teamwork partners David Zhu and Jason Zhang which was only decided in the final race of the year at Zhuzhou.

Zhu’s consistency would win out in the end, with a fourth place in the opening race of the season in Shanghai being the only time he would fail to make it onto the podium all season. Three pole pole positions and race wins at both Ningbo and Ordos allowed him to see off the challenge of his team-mate by just four points.

27 – Mike Halder, TCR Spain Champion with TPR Motorsport

Having returned to TCR Spain for the final round of the 2024 season, former champion Mike Halder committed to a full season in 2025 and an impressive campaign for the German racer saw him emerge as title winner for a second time.

Driving for the TPR Motorsport team, Halder was a model of consistency with three wins and seven podiums in eight starts allowing him to fend off Eric Gene for the crown. A further six wins saw Halder also take third in TCR Denmark despite sitting out the season finale due to a clash with his Spanish programme.

26 – Ma Qing Hua, 5th in TCR World Tour with Lynk & Co Cyan Racing

The 2025 TCR World Tour season was the best yet for Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua, even though it was the first time in three years that he would end the campaign without a trip to the top step of the podium.

Ma would pick up three podium finishes during the season – including a second place in the Macau finale – and was a regular figure inside the top eight, failing to score just once all season at Monza.

Even without a win, Ma also played his part in helping Lynk & Co Cyan Racing to lift the Teams’ title for a third successive season.

25 – Leonel Pernia, TCR South America Champion with Honda YPF Racing

Despite being one of the older drivers on the grid, Leonel Pernia added another title to his already impressive resume with victory in his first full season of competition in TCR South America.

Having debuted mid-way through the 2024 campaign, the four-time TC2000 champion joined forces with the Squadra Martino-run Honda YPF Racing team for the new campaign and would spend the year going toe-to-toe with team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr for the title.

The fight between the pair was eventually decided in favour of Pernia during the penultimate meeting of the season at Cuiaba, where a sixth win put him out of reach of the former F1 racer.

24 – Santiago Urrutia, 4th in TCR World Tour with Lynk & Co Cyan Racing

Like team-mate Ma Qing Hua, Santiago Urrutia enjoyed his best season to date in the TCR World Tour in 2025 and did so without making it into the top step of the podium.

The Uruguayan racer enjoyed a solid start to the campaign with five podium finishes in the opening four meetings and pole position in Valencia leaving him third in the standings after the European leg of the year was completed.

The second half of the season would prove to be more of a challenge and tough events in Australia and Macau would ultimately see him miss out on a spot on the end-of-year podium.

23 – Adam Morgan, 6th in the BTCC with Team VERTU

The 2025 BTCC season marked a return to front-wheel drive for Adam Morgan and he took full advantage of the switch into the Team VERTU Hyundai to secure his best championship finish to date.

Although unable to add to his tally of race wins, Morgan picked up five podium finishes as he emerged on top of a season long battle with team-mate Tom Chilton for a place in the top six of the standings.

Morgan had a smile on his face throughout the season and should be return with the team again in 2026, would hope to be in contention for honours.

22 – Adam Shepherd, TCR UK Champion with Capture Motorsport

After a disastrous end to the 2024 season, no-one would have blamed Adam Shepherd if he had walked away from TCR UK. Instead, he elected to switch to the Capture Motorsport team and return for another crack at the series – and walked away with the top prize.

After two rounds in a Cupra Leon Competicion to start the season, Shepherd moved into a new Leon VZ from round three at Silverstone and would be almost unbeatable from Croft onwards – scoring six wins across the final nine races to beat Callum Newsham to the title.

Six poles in seven events was further indication of Shepherd’s pace, and he rounded off the season with a win at Catalunya during a guest outing in TCR Spain.

21 – Brodie Kostecki, 9th in Supercars with Dick Johnson Racing

After his difficult title defence in 2024, Brodie Kostecki made the move from Chevrolet to Ford for the 2025 Supercars season charged with trying to revitalise the Dick Johnson Racing challenge.

Although it took time for Kostecki to make it onto the top step of the podium – with a first win of the season only arriving in Round 20 in Townsville, Kostecki then took top honours alongside Todd Hazelwood in the first round of the Enduro Cup at The Bend as he qualified for the new Finals Series.

A heavy crash at Surfers Paradise ultimately ended any hopes of a second title, but a third win of the year in Adelaide capped a solid season and provided a platform to now built on in 2026.

Positions 20-11 to follow in the coming days…