After asking you to vote for your leading drivers from the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season, the time has come to start the count-down to the driver you voted the top star of 2008.

Over the next ten days, we will be revealing the top ten in reverse order, with the winner being revealed on Friday 14 November.

More than 7,000 votes were cast on the BTCC poll, with each drivers average score out of ten then being calculated to decide the winner.

BTCC Driver of the Year – fourth place:

Name: Colin Turkington
Team: Team RAC
Car: BMW 320si (S2000)
Wins: 4
Podiums: 5
Fastest laps: 2
Championship points: 212
Championship position: 4th (Independents' champion)

Colin Turkington enjoyed another strong season in 2008 as he secured back-to-back Independent Trophy titles – fending off the challenge of fellow BMW driver Mat Jackson and Team Aircool's Adam Jones.

Once again armed with the BMW 320si, Turkington led the line for Team RAC in style and picked up four wins over the course of the season, with victories coming at Brands Hatch, Croft – on two occasions – and at Oulton Park.

Tough weekends at Rockingham and Donington Park early on in the year would ultimately leave him out of contention for the overall crown, but he was a model of consistency as far as the Indy title was concerned – taking no fewer than eleven Indy wins from the 30 races.

Indeed, he only failed to score Indy points in one race all year and it ultimately allowed him to finish ahead of Jackson in the standings despite the BMW Dealer Team UK man finishing higher overall.

Heading into 2009, Turkington will return with the WSR-run team and should be amongst the drivers looking to fight for the overall crown while also seeking to make it three-in-a-row in the Indy title race.

“I'm really happy and relieved,” he said on Finals Day. “The priority was the Independents' title again and it is important for everyone at RAC. That was what we were firmly set on and there was a lot of pressure all weekend. We had a 22 point lead but that can come down quickly so the plan was to stay out of trouble and keep scoring points and in the end I won it by ten. I'm really thrilled and glad it's all over as it has been a pressure filled day.

“At the beginning of the season, everyone starts out with the aim of trying to win the championship. Come the half-way point, the number of contenders comes down so it's tough. Jason and Fabrizio have set a high benchmark and it is hard to move to that next level. The last few years, we have been finishing third and fourth in the drovers' standings and it is hard to move to the next step. However, it has been a good season and we have scored more points and more wins than last year. We have improved the car through the year, especially in the wet, so we have something to build on for next year.

BTCC Driver of the year – Top ten:

5. Andrew Jordan John Guest Racing
6. Tom Onslow-Cole VX Racing
7. Steven Kane Motorbase Performance
8. Adam Jones Team Aircool
9. Gordon Shedden Team Halfords
10. Mike Jordan John Guest Racing

Tomorrow: We enter the top three in the Driver of the Year poll?