Lehdistötiedotteet - Speculation on Rookie of the Year, Season 9

Speculation on Rookie of the Year, Season 9

With the second leg of Week 9 left, and the top 30 rookie series drivers in the world set to converge on Shanghai in Week 10, the build up and speculation over who is "the world's best rookie" has been palpable.

We caught up with American race commentators after the Week 9 Leg 1 duel between Knight and Wheeler finished at Watkins Glen to see what they had to say about this year's rookie crop.

"Dan [Johnson] and Jason [Anderson], thank you for taking time with us to chat. What did you think about today's race?"

Dan: "I thought it was a brilliant run from Wheeler. He stayed calm and just sat in Knight's slipstream until Knight wavered. A different style from him than we've seen."

Jason: "Absolutely. Wheeler has normally been aggressive off the line, trying to get the lead and make it stick, but safety cars have been killing him as of late. It was clear he made some strategic changes to make sure he still had some car left at the end."

"And how about the big picture? With 3 Rookie Series races remaining, and a blistering field set for Shanghai, who do you think is the best candidate for Rookie of the Year?"

Jason: "Rob Northway Jr. far and away is the best rookie. He's won 10 races, a couple of which were out in open single racing. He's been brilliant on the Motorbike, which few rookies can say, and he's been incredibly consistent, landing in the top 10 66% of the time or more.

Dan: "Agreed. The Kiwi has it locked at this point. I think the more interesting conversation is 'who is the #2 rookie?' Now that's a race with some heavy heavy competition. It's a strong batch of rookies this year. 20 true rookies [drivers with less than 1 full season of experience] are going to Shanghai. The sandbaggers are getting left out by this rookie class."

"Alright. We'll bite. Who do you have as the #2 in the Rookie of the Year conversation?"

Dan: "I love the UK/USA duel we watched just now. These two are fantastic to watch. I'd say Knight edges Wheeler out, especially with Wheeler's struggles in Motorbike and Private racing, where Knight has been above average. They both finish in the top 10 more than 50% of the time, they've both been on stage more than 10 times, and I just love watching the two of them on course at the same time."

Jason: "I can live with those two. Not to be left out though, are a couple other guys that have a nose for the stage. Kovacs from Hungary and Villanova from Italy both have 10+ podiums on the season. Not nearly as consistent in terms of finding the top 10, but they are 'go for broke' drivers that either hit the stage, or go home early."

Dan: "Oh and don't forget about the Spaniard. Alonso looks really good. 6 wins, which is tied with Wheeler, and a handful of podiums as well. The fact that all 5 of these guys will be running with Northway Jr. in Shanghai gets my heart rate bumping. The racing is going to be phenomenal there."

With the prospect of 6 of the world's best true rookies running together in Week 10's Rookie Series finale at Shanghai, people are already buzzing. As for us, we'll be watching intently to see if Wheeler can split the Rookie Series duel with Knight in Week 9 after gaining back a victory in leg 1 to bring the duel to a 2-1 Knight lead.