Staněk wins the Golden Steering Wheel for 2023, Pirro receives the World Motorsport Personality award

At the Golden Steering Wheel gala evening at the National Technical Museum in Prague, the best contemporary Czech racers received their awards. The prestigious award in the car category was won by Formula 2 pilot Roman Staněk. The motorcycle category was won by Moto2 rider Filip Salač. The Eliška Junková Award was won by Czech-Slovak rider Katarína Kývalová, and Filip Kohn was voted talent of the year.

The gala evening, which traditionally culminates the oldest Czech motoring poll, the Golden Steering Wheel, took place this time at the National Technical Museum in the presence of leading representatives of Czech motorsport. A total of 16,387 votes were cast by fans for the best domestic racers of the 2023 season. The final verdict was also given with equal weight by an expert jury consisting of leading motoring and sports journalists and representatives of the organizer.

The most votes among car drivers were received by Formula 2 pilot Roman Staněk . He had already shone in the poll the previous year, when he won the Golden Steering Wheel and Talent of the Year titles. The Golden Steering Wheel for 2023 was received from Marian Krivosudský, a representative of EVROFIN, a long-time partner of the poll. The Golden Handlebar award for 2023 for the best Czech motorcycle rider goes to Filip Salač, a MotoGP series rider in the Moto2 class. The Golden Handlebar trophy was presented by Radek Pokorný, CEO of Engine Group.

The Czech motorsport gala evening was also graced with the presence of the legendary Italian Formula 1 pilot and five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Emanuele Pirro, who came to Prague to receive the Golden Steering Wheel for a personality in world motorsport . "I am very pleased to be awarded in this prestigious poll with a long tradition, which is associated with many famous names of racers who received awards before me. The Czech Republic is a country closely linked to motorsport. I myself raced in Brno, we tested for Le Mans many times on the Most circuit, and that is also why this award is very rare for me ," says the sixty-two-year-old Italian racer today, who received the Golden Steering Wheel from the representative of the main partner of the poll, ORLEN Unipetrol . "By supporting motorsports, which is fully in line with the values of the ORLEN Group operating in Central Europe and the Czech Republic, we bring many unforgettable experiences to car and motorcycle fans. That is why we are happy to support the Golden Steering Wheel awards, which recognize the best Czech drivers and personalities who contribute to the popularization and development of motorsports and are an inspiration for the current and upcoming generation," said Jakub Kosmowski, Marketing Director of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group.

This year, the organizers decided to award the Golden Handlebars also for contributions to world motorsport. The trophy was received from Josef Zajíček, the main organizer of the poll, by Gregorio Lavilla, a former motorcycle racer and now director of the WorldSBK World Superbike Championship, which will be hosted by Autodrom Most for the fourth year running.

As every year, the female racer of the year was also awarded at the gala evening. Katarína Kývalová, who focuses on vintage car racing, came to receive the Eliška Junková Award . "For a Czechoslovak native like me, the Eliška Junková Award has and will always have a very special place and special meaning among all the awards I have received so far. Eliška Junková is one of my motoring heroes and a great role model. Her successes have gone down in history, so accepting the award for the "best female racer of the year" , which bears her name, is a great honor for me and I am very proud of her," described her feelings as Kývalová, who will start the famous Beijing–Paris race in mid-May. She received the award from Tereza Maxová, ambassador of the watch brand ROBOT.

Fans and the jury also voted for Talent of the Year, which was Filip Kohn . The youngster from Příbram has had his first season in the World Championship, where he won the Central European Rally in the WRC3 category and the RC3 class. The award was presented by Martin Králíček, CEO, MG Czech Republic.

The Golden Eye photography competition, which selects the best motorsports photo, has long been an integral part of the Golden Steering Wheel contest. Of the submitted photos, the jury was most impressed by the Dakar photo titled "Impact" by Marian Chytka, which, in addition to the gold trophy, also won a prize from Canon.

"We would like to thank all the fans for their votes and our partners for their support. I am very happy that the Czech Republic is successfully nurturing new talents and that we can highlight and support them in this way," said Josef Zajíček, organizer of the Golden Steering Wheel poll.

The Golden Steering Wheel poll is the oldest Czech motoring poll and has existed since 1976. In the past, famous drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Emerson Fittipaldi and many others have received the trophy as part of the poll. The winners are decided by a joint vote of the public, an expert jury and representatives of the organizer. The complete results of the 48th year, including the ranking of all nominees, will be published by the organizer on the poll website www.zlatyvolant.cz .

Awards for 2023

Golden Steering Wheel; World Motorsport Personality: Emanuele Pirro
Golden Steering Wheel: Roman Staněk
Golden Handlebar; World Motorsport Personality: Gregorio Lavilla
Golden handlebars: Filip Salač
Talent of the Year: Filip Kohn
Eliška Junková Award: Katarína Kývalová

Emanuele Pirro (born 12 January 1962) is an Italian racing driver with a rich career that includes successes in Formula One, touring cars and endurance racing, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he won five times. Pirro was also twice Italian karting champion (1976, 1979) and Formula Fiat Abarth champion (1980). Two-time Italian touring car champion (1994, 1995), two-time Italian overall champion (1995, 1996) and German touring car champion (1996). His impressive achievements in endurance racing rank him among the best drivers in this discipline. In addition to a record five victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007), he also won the ALMS championship twice (2001, 2005) and triumphs in races such as the 12 Hours of Sebring (2000, 2007) and Petit Le Mans (2001, 2005, 2008). His notable achievements include victories in races such as the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (1989), the Macau Guia Race (1991, 1992) and the Goodwood RAC Historic TT. Pirro participated in more than 500 official national and international races, leaving an unforgettable mark on the world of motorsport and becoming an icon in his field.

Gregorio Lavilla (born 29 September 1973) is a Spanish former motorcycle road racer. He competed in MotoGP (250/500/MotoGP), the World Superbike Championship and the British Superbike Championship, winning the British crown in 2005. In 2008, he raced in WSB for the Ventaxia Honda team, finishing 12th in the championship. In 2009, he competed in four rounds of the WSB series with the Guandalini Racing Ducati team. In 2013, he joined MotoGP and WorldSBK promoter Dorna and is currently the Executive Director of the WorldSBK championship.

Katarína Kývalová , a Czech-Slovak racer living in Germany. She focuses primarily on historic car racing. She founded the women's Bentley Belles team and regularly competes in events such as Le Mans Classic, Mille Miglia, Monaco Grand Prix Historique and others. Shortly after receiving the Eliška Junková Award in Prague, she will head to China, where she will compete in the Beijing Paris 2024 race on May 18.