A select handful of Australian motorsport participants were honoured in the 2022 Australia Day Honours.

FIA Formula 1 World Championship star Daniel Ricciardo was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia for his significant service to motorsport as a competitor and ambassador, and to the community.   

While Ricciardo will be the most famous face among those given these special awards today, the others are just as deserving having served and supported motorsport in many different capacities.

Victorian Historic Racing Register (VHRR) President Ian Tate, Tasmanian steward Terence Bracken and former Karting Australia President Leslie Power were awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia.

Since making his debut in 2011 for Hispania Racing F1 Team, Ricciardo has gone on to start 210 races for a variety of teams such as Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri), Red Bull, Renault (now Alpine) and of course, McLaren.

Throughout his time in F1, Ricciardo has picked up 1274 Championship points, 32 podiums, 16 fastest laps, three pole positions and eight Grand Prix wins - his most recent being at last year's famous Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

Tate, meanwhile, has been involved in motorsport for almost seven decades having worked with some of the greats in Australian motorsport such as Frank Lowndes, Colin Bond and Peter Brock.

An important cog in the famous Holden Dealer Team in the 1970s, Tate was crucial in helping Brock achieve overwhelming success during that period, before taking over the famous Queens Avenue workshop where he successfully built and prepared racecars for Peter Janson. 

A historic car lover, Tate has spent more than half his life with the VHRR, for which he has been President since 2000.

Joining the club at the start of 1970s, he has received VHRR Life Membership and a Motorsport Australia Service Award, helped the club create two major international recognised historic race meetings, the Phillip Island Classic and Historic Sandown and has served on Australian Historic Motor Sport Commission and Australian Historic Racing Promoters Committee.

While he has achieved many accolades over the years, Tate believed that the Medal of the Order of Australia is the best of the lot. 

“It’s very humbling to receive an award like this. Of course you don’t get into the sport for awards, but to be rewarded for my hard work over the years is very gratifying,” Tate said.

“I have so many good memories over the years. From the success gained with the Holden Dealer Team and winning Bathurst, contributing to Peter Janson’s success, turning the VHRR into a world-class club and winning the awards with Motorsport Australia.

"However they don’t really compare to this achievement right now. This is the pinnacle of my life and it’s an incredible achievement as far as I am concerned. I am excited to open the envelope. 

“Of course, to get an award like this, you need many good people around you and I have been lucky enough to have that.

“Firstly, I would like to dedicate part of this award to my wife and loving family. She has been put through hell and supported me for all these years. The other half is dedicated to the people I have been involved with. To have had so many fantastic people is just amazing.

“From my point of view, it has been work, business and pleasure all-in-one. My life has been motorsport all the way through since I was just 15-years-old.”

Like Tate, Terence Bracken has been a significant contributor to his local club, Motor Sport Club Tasmania, having been the President, Vice President, and magazine editor for a long period of time.

Involved in the sport for more than five decades, Bracken has been a volunteer official for many of those years and is a highly respected Steward, a Targa course checker, as well as a communications/timing official for grassroots, state and national events at Symmons Plains Raceway. 

In 2004, Bracken’s efforts for both club and his duties at national events saw him rewarded as the Motorsport Australia (then Confederation of Australian Motor Sport) State Official of the Year.

Leslie Power has had a big influence in karting, both as a competitor and administrator. Power was a 15-time Australian Karting Champion, before he took on other roles in the sport, notably holding the position of President of Karting Australia from 1973-1980. He was also involved in Speedway both as a sponsor and driver.

Other individuals to be awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for service to their motoring clubs and to the community were Kay De Luca and the late Anthony De Luca of New South Wales, along with Ian Digby of South Australia. 

Motorsport Australia President Andrew Fraser congratulated all Australian Day Honours recipients for their outstanding and meritorious contributions to motorsport.

“On behalf of Motorsport Australia, I would like to commend those receiving their honours today,” Fraser said.

“Motorsport Australia is proud to celebrate those who give up their time and expertise to make motorsport as strong as it can be.

“Whether it be at the top of the sport, where Daniel Ricciardo shines, or at the grassroots level where so many of our officials and competitors do amazing things, days like today allow us to applaud those who go above and beyond.”