From 6 to 8 October, 22 Best Young Driver finalists were in Teesdorf, Austria to compete for this year’s International Best Young Driver title.

The Contest gathers young drivers aged 18 to 26 to showcase their excellent driving skills and knowledge. Some of the exercises in the Contest included timed driving in slalom, driving off-road and evasive braking exercises.

Timo Svetina, from ÖAMTC Austria, won this year’s contest and is the 2023 International Best Young Driver. Elmedin Ćibo from BIHAMK Bosnia and Herzegovina won second place and Alexander Anastassov from UAB Bulgaria won third place.

There were six female drivers that participated in this year’s edition. Marta Iglesias from RACE Spain scored the highest points among the women drivers.

The popularity of the Contest continues to grow among FIA Region I Members with the number of participants nearly tripling since the first edition of the contest. This year’s edition also welcomed participants from EA 991 Botswana and AA Kenya for the first time.

During the award ceremony, the FIA Region I expressed gratitude to the 2022 International Best Young Driver, Stefan Trimmel, for his role as FIA Region I Road Safety Ambassador in the Drive with Care road safety campaign. This year’s International Best Young Driver, Timo Svetina, has now been appointed as this year’s Road Safety Ambassador for the recently launched campaign on mobile distraction.

Many Member Clubs have also adopted the same practice of appointing their national best young drivers as road safety ambassadors in their country.

The International Best Young Driver Contest originated from AMZS Slovenia in 2017. The Contest has proven to be a successful opportunity to connect with younger audiences as all national contests in 11 countries have gained outstanding participation results. Young drivers shared having heard about the Contest on social media, email newsletters and Club magazines, highlighting the keen interest of younger audiences.

The goal of the contest is to encourage safer driving skills among young people. Young drivers are still overrepresented in road casualties. The contest serves as an opportunity to put forward the message and showcase that young people can drive safely and responsibly.

This year’s edition was kindly hosted by ÖAMTC Austria and is supported by the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme.